Seven people were shot dead outside a church in upper Egypt late last night following a mass to celebrate the Coptic Christmas. Al-Jazeera says three men in a car drove past and opened fire with machineguns in Nag Hammadi, 40 miles from Luxor.

A local bishop was quoted as saying he and members of the congregation had received threats before the attack and the midnight mass had been held an hour early because of them..

Communal violence flared up in the town last November after a 12-year-old Muslim girl was allegedly raped by a Christian man. Christian-owned properties were attacked during five days of rioting by Muslims in retaliation. On Saturday, a court released 14 people who had been detained in connection with the attacks.

Today's issue of al-Masry al-Youm describes the fears of Christians living in the area.

Earlier this week, al-Masry al-Youm reported the formation of a National Committee for Combating Sectarian Violence "to campaign against what they perceive as the state’s failure in fighting rising violence targeting Egypt’s Christian minority".

The new organisation, which is backed by 22 rights groups, several small political parties and 61 "public figures", says the state's reluctance to tackle sectarian violence (or even admit that sectarian tensions exist) bestows "a kind of endorsement and support" on the perpetrators.

Egypt has the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Muslim-Christian relations are such a sensitive issue that the actual number of Christians in the country remains a state secret, though they are thought to account for around 10% of the population – about eight million people.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 7 January 2010.