Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Egyptian Military Accused of Lying over Denial of Anti-Christian Violence


The Egyptian military has been accused of lying about its role in the violence that left at least 25 people dead last week after generals denied firing on Christian protestors and running over them in armoured vehicles.

Generals from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces blamed Christian protestors for the violence, accusing them of “savage” attacks on the military. At a press conference last Wednesday (12 October) Maj Gen Adel Emara denied troops opened fire at protestors, claiming that their weapons did not contain live ammunition. He also claimed that the military were “trying to avoid running into protestors, not rolling over them”.

His account has been challenged with compelling evidence to the contrary. Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a member of the Revolution Youth Coalition, said:

These are blatant lies. The witnesses and the video clips prove that there was monstrous suppression by the army of a peaceful protest.

Journalist Samwel el-Ashay added:

At a certain point, things got out of hand and the armoured vehicles running around were actually rolling over protestors. I saw it with my eyes.

Autopsies and forensic reports also refute the military’s version of events; a third of the victims – most of whom were Christians – were killed by being run over by armoured vehicles, while two-thirds were shot with live ammunition. To read more, click here.

Related articles:
Author Calls Killing of Egypt Coptic Christians Part of 'Islamic Tsunami'
Egypt Destroying Churches, One at a Time

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