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Egyptian Authorities Throw Security Dragnet Across Churches

Egyptian security services cordon off the site of a bomb attack next to a police checkpoint in the western Talibiya district of the capital Cairo on December 9, 2016 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)
Egyptian security services cordon off the site of a bomb attack next to a police checkpoint in the western Talibiya district of the capital Cairo on December 9, 2016 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)
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Egyptian Authorities Throw Security Dragnet Across Churches

Egyptian security services cordon off the site of a bomb attack next to a police checkpoint in the western Talibiya district of the capital Cairo on December 9, 2016 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)
Egyptian security services cordon off the site of a bomb attack next to a police checkpoint in the western Talibiya district of the capital Cairo on December 9, 2016 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi extended on Friday his wishes to Egyptian expatriates on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year.

Via a Facebook post, the Egyptian President said: “I am wishing you success and happiness, and that the new year will bring our beloved Egypt more security, stability, progress and prosperity.”

Meanwhile, Egypt’s security forces upped security measures around churches on the eve of the Coptic Orthodox Christmas.

In the Shobra district north of Cairo, where many Copts reside, armed forces blocked a main street near a large church and placed metal barricades to prevent vehicles from parking in the area.

At the St. Mary Church in al-Matariyyah district in the northern region of Greater Cairo, security forces placed a narrow metal gate.

“Such measures reflect caution and not fear. They aim to provide worshipers some safety and peace while praying,” a church official told Asharq Al-Awsat.

This year, Copts will celebrate their Christmas mass on January 6 amid the opening of the “The Nativity of the Christ Cathedral” in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, which lies 60 kilometers east of Cairo.

The mass will be attended by Sisi and Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II, the Church said in a statement.

In 2011, 21 people died and another 97 were injured in an attack in Alexandria which targeted Christian worshipers as they were leaving a New Year service.

In 2017, attacks in Alexandria and Tanta targeted Coptic churches on Palm Sunday, killing 47 and injuring more than 120.

Other attacks have also targeted Christians in Egypt.

A security source said that this year, the Egyptian Interior Ministry has drawn airtight security dragnets around churches.

In 2015, Sisi became the first Egyptian President to attend Christmas Mass.

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UN Humanitarian Chief Urges Massive Aid Boost for Syria

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP
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UN Humanitarian Chief Urges Massive Aid Boost for Syria

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP

Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Wednesday for a massive aid boost for Syria to respond to "this moment of hope" after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.
"Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now," Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.
"I want to scale up massively international support, but that now depends on donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded and now there is this opportunity," he said.
"The Syrian people are trying to come home when it's safe to do so, to rebuild their country, to rebuild their communities and their lives.
"We have to get behind them and to respond to this moment of hope. And if we don't do that quickly, then I fear that this window will close."
Half of Syria's population were forced from their homes during nearly 14 years of civil war, with millions finding refuge abroad.
UN officials have said a $4 billion appeal for Syria aid is less than a third funded.
"There are massive humanitarian needs... water, food, shelter... There are needs in terms of government services, health, education, and then there are longer term rebuilding needs, development needs," Fletcher said.
"We've got to be ambitious in our ask of donors.
"The Syrian people demand that we deliver, and they're right to demand that we deliver," he said. "The world hasn't delivered for the Syrian people for more than a decade."
'Test for all'
As part of his visit, Fletcher met representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the opposition group which spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad, including its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir.
Fletcher said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's new administration that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground.
"We need unhindered, unfettered access to the people that we're here to serve. We need the crossings open so we can get massive amounts of aid through... We need to ensure that humanitarian workers can go where they need to go without restriction, with protection," he said.
"I received the strongest possible reassurances from the top of that caretaker administration that they will give us that support that we need. Let's test that now in the period ahead."
Assad's government had long imposed restrictions on humanitarian organizations and on aid distribution in areas of the country outside its control.
Fletcher said that the coming period would be "a test for the UN, which hasn't been able to deliver what we wanted to over a decade now... Can we scale up? Can we gain people's trust?
"But it's also a test for the new administration," he added. "Can they guarantee us a more permissive environment than we had under the Assad regime?
"I believe that we can work in that partnership, but it's a huge test for all of us."