Egypt: Foundation stone laid for church dedicated to 'Martyrs of Libya'

Today, Wednesday, April 1, the first stone of the church dedicated to the 'Martyrs of Libya' - the 21 Egyptian Copts killed in Libyan territory by jihadists in January, was held in the village of Al Awar, near Samalot.

The village is located 25 kilometres from Minya, in the province where most of the victims come from.

The initiative was attended by representatives of the local Islamic community.

The church is being built under the sponsorship of the government. Conciliation meetings have taken place between the governor of Minya, representatives of elders and influential Christian and Muslim family clans in the area. Senior representatives of the army and security forces also participated.

The intervention of the judiciary and the military was necessary to overcome protests and resistance by local Islamist groups who wanted to block the proposed construction of the church.