Egypt's Sisi attends Coptic Christmas celebration amid tight security
(VOVWORLD) - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi attended on Saturday evening the Coptic Christmas Eve celebration held at a new, partly-opened cathedral in the country's new administrative capital city eastern Cairo.
 Egypt tightens security at cathedrals |
The Egyptian president in his remarks at the cathedral aired on the state TV highlighted the importance of the partial opening of the cathedral saying it conveys a message of peace and love not only to Egyptians but to the whole world. The new unfinished cathedral, named the Nativity of Christ, is said to be the largest in the Middle East region.
Sisi's remarks came amid a wave of anti-Coptic church terrorist attacks that killed over a hundred since late 2016, with most of them claimed by a Sinai-based terrorist group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) group.
The security patrols and joint combat groups have also intensified their deployment at the streets and main squares to deal with any law-breaking attempts and provide security and safety to all citizens nationwide, according to the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement Saturday. The beefed up nationwide security comes as a precaution against any possible IS anti-Copt attacks.