The Christian community in Egypt is in mourning after 21 Egyptian Christians who had moved to Libya for employment were brutally murdered by members loyal to the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group. Those involved with ISIS posted a video on February 15th showing the savage decapitation of the victimized men. The video, titled "A message signed with blood to the nation of the cross," makes it clear that the men were targeted because of their faith. Additionally, a caption in the video describes the victims as "people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian church."The believers had been kidnapped around the Libyan city of Sirte in separate incidents during the months of December and January. On January 12th, the Libyan branch of ISIS released a statement that they were holding the Egyptian men in captivity.
The murdered Christians came from villages in Egypt's central Samalut region in northern Minya. This region suffers from high poverty rates due to a lack of job opportunities, causing many inhabitants to move to other Arab countries in search of work. According to eyewitnesses, the friends and family members of the victims were visibly traumatized upon hearing the shocking news of their loved ones' deaths.
The murdered Christians came from villages in Egypt's central Samalut region in northern Minya. This region suffers from high poverty rates due to a lack of job opportunities, causing many inhabitants to move to other Arab countries in search of work. According to eyewitnesses, the friends and family members of the victims were visibly traumatized upon hearing the shocking news of their loved ones' deaths.
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