Coptic Solidarity issued the statement three days after Bishop Macarius of Minya, the province where many of the attacks have taken place, condemned the Egyptian government led by President Abdel Fatah Sisi for not doing enough to protect the rights of Christians in the country. Speaking to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, Bishop Macarius stated, “Anger is mounting and authorities are taking steps too late,�? and that “Consolations are not enough.�? The report continues:

On Sunday, families of two priests in the Tahna El-Jabal village were attacked by assailants wielding knives and batons killing a 27-year-old man and injuring three others, including a woman.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack started as an argument between young Muslim men and Christian children over right of way on the narrow streets of the village. The disputing parties then involved the families of the Christian children, including the son of the local church’s pastor.

In May, Muslim villagers set ablaze seven Christian homes and assaulted a Christian man’s elderly mother, parading her naked in public. The assault in in Minya’s El-Karm village was sparked by rumours that the man was having an illicit relationship with a Muslim woman.

Incidences of sectarian violence have frequently been reported over the past years. Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million, have long complained of discrimination and sectarian attacks in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country.

In an interview on Egyptian television summarized by Coptic Solidarity, Bishop Marcarius blamed the government for failing to stop the attacks. Coptic Solidarity reports:

When asked what the government did regarding this incident, he said it did what it always does: taking its time, “security comes after all the damage is complete, after the rioters have had their fill of plunder, then it stays in the area for a couple days, and once it leaves, the area again falls under the sway of certain elements.�?

Bishop Makarious ultimately held the government responsible for the repeated attacks on the Copts of Minya. After he pointed out that “some of the authorities always smile at what is happening,�? the surprised host asked him to explain, to which the bishop responded: “Of course I don’t assume that all authorities have the interest of the nation at heart and are sincere, because if they did, these attacks would not happen time and again, at a rate now of every two or three days.�?

Here is a list of more than a dozen recent attacks compiled by Coptic Solidarity. This linked document also provides information about the upcoming peaceful protest planned for Washington, D.C.