On 14 August, the headquarters of the Jesuits and Brothers Association was attacked by unknown assailants in a sectarian assault.
“At 10.30am, they began to attack our centre from one side and threw stones and molotov cocktails at our door,” said Magdi Asham, an information sector director for the organisation which operates the headquarters.
When the attackers failed to enter the complex, they left and returned in the afternoon to continue the attack. “They jumped over the wall carrying weapons… and shot the lock from the inside to allow the others to enter,” he said.
Asham claimed about 400 people entered the complex, which contains a church, a school, a nursery school, a library, a centre for the disabled and a theatre. “They stole our equipment like computers and cameras… after that they burned the building… and guarded the fire with their weapons so no one could extinguish it,” he said.
“I have never been so frightened in all my life. I was frightened to death” said Biman, a Jesuit priest who preferred not to give his full name and was present during the attack.
He confirmed Asham’s account of what happened. “They were in front of me, they had sticks, they had stones… they didn’t attack me, I call it a miracle, a blessing”.
At the time of the attack, Biman said, two disabled people were studying in one of the buildings. The attackers asked them to leave, but destroyed their wheelchairs. Though otherwise unharmed, the disabled pair were forced to vacate the premises using only their crutches.
Biman claimed that he and other members of staff at the centre called the local police a number of times during the attack to no avail.
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http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/08/25/attack-on-minya-theatre/
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