Funeral services were held on October 10 in Cairo for some of the victims of a military attack against a group of Christian protestors that left at least 26 dead and hundreds wounded. The attack began in the late afternoon on October 9, when Christian protestors marching through Cairo began getting pelted with rocks and other projectiles near an overpass that cuts through the downtown. By the time the protestors were able to make it to a television and radio broadcasting building commonly known as the Maspero Building, the army began shooting into the crowd and ramming riot-control vehicles into the protestors. Later in the evening there were reports of sporadic violence against Christian-owned businesses and fighting close to the Coptic Hospital, where most of the bodies of the dead and wounded had been brought.

In the wake of what could be the worst act of violence against Egyptian Christians in modern history, leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church called for three days of fasting and prayer for divine intervention, along with three days of mourning. Coptic Christians, once a majority in Egypt, now make up 7 to 10 per cent of the country's 80 million people.

Please PRAY for rest, peace and justice in Egypt. PRAY for the leaders of this nation; ask the Lord to give them wisdom. PRAY God will minister to those who are mourning and give those who are victims of violence the grace to forgive their attackers. Ask the Lord to protect and strengthen His Church in Egypt.

(Sources: Compass Direct News, Middle East Concern)