Monasteries close doors to visitors

Cairo - A number of monasteries have closed their doors to receive any visits or trips of groups or individuals until next July without providing any reasons. This step has been taken although the Egyptian interior ministry stressed that it has monitored no threats against churches for the time being.

A source from the interior ministry said that security services have not monitored any terrorist threats against Christians’ places of worship, stressing that the ministry is on the alert for protecting such places anytime.

The source recalled that Egypt’s interior minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar stated during his recent meeting that security forces are ready to deal with any terrorist acts during the holy month of Ramadan. The minister also instructed media outlets to be accurate and avoid spreading baseless information that terrifies citizens, such as reports on terrorist threats against churches and monasteries.

Sources from churches told Al-Bawaba News that the interior ministry has tightened security measures around churches with surveillance cameras and electric security gates for visitors. 

At least 28 Christians were killed and dozens injured on May 26, 2017 after unidentified gunmen opened fire on buses carrying dozens of children and other adults to a trip to a monastery in the Egyptian southern governorate of Minya.