Military police in Cairo opened fire on Coptic Christians who were protesting the recent burning of a church in southern Egypt. Armed with nothing more than wooden crosses, 19 Copts were killed and hundreds injured.

Bloomberg is reporting that the violence began when several hundred Christians gathered to protest the Oct. 1 burning of a Coptic church in Aswan. The demonstrators marched peacefully until coming under attack by bystanders who pelted them with stones. When the demonstrators reached the center of the city, a clash with security forces turned bloody.

“Today occurred a massacre of the Copts,” said Father Filopateer Gamil, who witnessed the protest. “They arranged a trap for us. As soon as we arrived they surrounded us and started shooting live ammunition randomly at us. Then the armored vehicles arrived and ran over protesters.”

At least 19 people were killed and more than 200 injured. 

According to the U.S. State Department report on religious freedom published last year, the Christian population of Egypt was openly discriminated against by the government of former president Hosni Mubarak, and some Christians say this policy is continuing under the military council that took power when Mubarak was ousted in February.

“This was not violence between Christians and the army, nor was it violence between Christians and Muslims, there were thugs involved,” Father Youssef Samir, a Coptic priest, told Bloomberg. 

“The army created this because they wanted to tighten their grip on power, they want people to forget all about elections and all about democracy,” said Sobhi.

However, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf called the clashes "unjustified violence" in a televised speech, warning that they “raised fear and concerns about the future of this homeland” and the country’s transition to democracy.

“What is happening now is not clashes between Muslims and Christians but attempts to spark chaos and strife among the homeland sons,” Prime Minister Sharaf wrote on his Facebook page. “I call upon Egyptians to not respond to the calls for strife.”

Some news agencies are reporting that Sharaf has been in contact with both military and church leaders in an effort to contain the crisis.

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com