A church in Minya was re-opened on Saturday after being renovated. The church in the village of Beni Mazar was among others ravaged in sectarian violence that erupted following the anti-Mohamed Morsi uprising and post-Muslim Brotherhood sit-in dispersals in 2013.
Head of the Evangelical Community Andrea Zaki and the Minya governor reportedly launched the opening as state-media said it was the last of 69 churches damaged in attacks, renovated by the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineering Authority.
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in August, “at least 45 churches came under simultaneous attack in various governorates as soon as procedures to clear the two sit-ins began, resulting in the death of 7 citizens, the torching of 25 churches, the looting and destruction of 7 churches and the partial destruction of 5 more churches. This is in addition to assaults on numerous schools, civic associations and church-affiliated social services buildings.”
Meanwhile, the authority had also completed the renovation of St. Peter and St. Paul Church, which was attacked on 11 December by a suicide bomber allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State.
The attack was the first in a series of terrorist attacks on churches across Egypt took place, as well as an infamous Minya bus shooting.
