CAIRO — An armed Muslim mob stripped an elderly Christian woman and paraded her naked on the streets in an attack last week in which seven Christian homes were also looted and torched in a province south of the Egyptian capital.
According to the local Orthodox Coptic Church and security officials, the assault in the Minya province village of Karma on Friday began after rumors spread that the elderly woman’s son had an affair with a Muslim woman.
Police have arrested six men suspected of taking part in the violence and are looking for 12 more, the security officials said.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called for the culprits to be held accountable and gave the military a month to restore property damaged during the violence, at no cost to the owners.
In a statement issued Thursday by his office, el-Sissi said Egypt appreciates the role of “glorious Egyptian women” and said “the rights and the protection of their dignity are a humanitarian and patriotic commitment before being a legal and constitutional one.”