Egypt secures Christians sites with 230,000 security personnel

Nearly a quarter of a million security officers will secure some 2,626 churches in Egypt over the Christmas weekend, as well as public parks, state institutions and tourist sites, The measures will include CCTV, metal detector systems at the gates of churches and police vehicles parked outside. Exactly a year ago, 29 Christians were killed and 47 were injured when a suicide bomber attacked St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church in Cairo, with several more attacks against Christians since then. Although Coptic Christians in Egypt celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, a minority of non-Orthodox church believers will mark the day on Dec. 25, like much of the Western world.