Shocking : Egypt Islamists Destroyed Christian Churches, Schools, Businesses and Homes

CAIRO — An international human rights group has chronicled attacks on 42 churches, dozens of Christian institutions and schools as well as homes and business owned by Christians amid an intimidation campaign believed to be waged by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. In a new report, New York-based Human Rights Watch said Thursday that authorities are "largely absent or failed to intervene" when churches or properties come under attack. The campaign picked up on Aug. 14 when police violently cleared two protest camps set up by the deposed president's supporters in Cairo. The crackdown sparked nationwide violence that left hundreds dead and thousands injured. The group said that most of the anti-Christian attacks were concentrated in southern Egypt. At least three Christians and one Muslim were killed as a result. Egyptian armored vehicle and army soldiers stand guard outside the main Christian Orthodox Cathedral in the southern city of Assiut, Egypt. In the five days since security forces cleared two sit-in camps by supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Islamists have attacked dozens of Coptic churches along with homes and businesses owned by the Christian minority. The campaign of intimidation appears to be a warning to Christians outside Cairo to stand down from political activism. The church is located in the Upper Egyptian town of Minya, the capital of the governorate of the same name, about 150 miles south of Cairo. While 40 percent of Minya's population is Christian, compared with roughly 10 percent nationwide, it is also an Islamist stronghold, and has produced many of the movement's leaders over the years. Khalid Islambouli, a member of the Islamic Jihad movement that assassinated former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, was born in Minya. The Gamaa Islamiya movement, which carried out an insurgency against the Egyptian government and occasionally targeted Christians during the 1990s, had one of its strongest footholds here. Down the street from Father Abdou's church are two mosques, one affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the other with the Gamaa Islamiya, locals said. Ravaged churches reveal sectarian split feeding Egypt's violence Group: Egypt's churches targeted in attacks Human Rights Watch urges Egypt to protect churches Rich Lowry: Anti-Christian pogrom is under way in Egypt Coptic Christians In New Jersey 'Praying' For Egypt Egyptian mobs rage against Christians Turmoil raises fresh fears for Egypt's Copts Egypt: Government Must Protect Christians From Sectarian Violence Egypt's Catholics denounce 'terrorist' violence Opinion: Christians suffering, dying in Egypt's turmoil