Suspect in South Africa attack on 3 Egyptian Coptic monks arrested

A suspect has been arrested after three Coptic Orthodox monks were assassinated at a South African monastery, police said on Wednesday.

The monks were killed on Tuesday at the monasteries of St Mark the Apostle and St Samuel the Confessor in Cullinan, a town east of the capital Pretoria. The fourth man was beaten with an iron rod before escaping and hiding in a temple, police said.

The arrested suspect is a 35-year-old man. Police did not provide his name or other details. He will appear in court on Thursday.

The motive for the attack is unclear. Police spokesman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said in a statement that nothing appeared to have been stolen from the monastery.

Police said Tuesday they were looking for multiple suspects.

Deadly attacks on churches and other places of worship are rare in South Africa.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is headquartered in Egypt and has dioceses in several countries. It is one of the world’s oldest Christian communities and has been the target of deadly attacks by Islamist militants in Egypt and elsewhere.

Attacks in Egypt have calmed down recently as security around Christian places of worship in the majority-Muslim country has tightened.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has named the monks killed in South Africa Hegumen Takla el-Samuely, Yostos ava Markos and Mina ava Markos. All three are Egyptian nationals.

The Coptic Orthodox Church of South Africa said Samueli was a representative of the local diocese.

The Coptic Church has its own pope, the current Pope Tawadros II. The South African diocese said he was aware of the attack and was “waiting to be informed of its cause”.

South Africa’s Coptic Orthodox Church said Egypt’s ambassador to South Africa visited the monastery after the attack. Egypt’s foreign ministry said it was in contact with the embassy in South Africa.