Sixteen rights groups issued a joint statement on Wednesday condemning the recent attacks against Egyptian Coptic Christians as violence erupted after the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Attacks of Coptic homes and churches were reported in villages in Upper Egypt’s Luxor, Suhag and Minya.
The rights groups expressed "grave concern regarding the increasing sectarian violence which has targeted Christians and their churches since the June 30 uprising.”
Morsi supporters have raised sectarian rhetoric since 3 July when the army removed Morsi from power following mass protests against him.
"[We] strongly condemn the rhetoric employed by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies, which includes clear incitement to violence and religious hatred," the statement read.
A Coptic priest was shot dead in North Sinai on 6 July amid a spike in armed attacks by unknown militants against the military and police in the Egyptian peninsula since Morsi's deposition.
"Reports from northern Sinai reveal that the military and the police continue to be incapable of providing sufficient protection to civilians – both Muslims and Christians – in the face of acts of violence…. by armed groups of Islamist extremists… [reports of] a large number of Christians from Northern Sinai have been displaced … churches have remained closed most of the time due to fears that they will be attacked," the groups said.
The statement also condemned the state for failing to prevent sectarian attacks.
"The undersigned organisations further denounce the continued negligence of the institutions of the state to provide the necessary protection to Christian citizens, to decisively confront sectarian attacks, and to enforce the law by holding those responsible for the acts of sectarian violence, which have been seen in several governorates to account," the groups added.
Egypt's prosecutor-general ordered on Tuesday the detention of 11 people for a 15-day period pending investigations for sectarian clashes in Minya on Saturday that left 17 wounded.
The groups called on Islamists to reject violence, the state to prosecute sectarian attacks and stop Egypt's traditional method of resolving such conflicts by carrying out unofficial reconciliation talks sponsored by the state, which the groups say usually favour the stronger party.
They also urged that the conclusions of investigations into sectarian crimes be made public and that witnesses of such crimes be provided sufficient protection.
"The prosecution should call for an independent investigation to determine what led to inadequate protection being provided to Christians, their property, and their places of worship, whether by the military or the police," the statement concluded.
Signatories to the statement include: the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies, Arab Network for Human Rights Information, Egyptians against Religious Discrimination, Arab Penal Reform Organisation, Nazra for Feminist Studies and others.
