Church razed

TRIPOLI (AP):

Witnesses say that unidentified assailants torched a church used by Egyptian Christians in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi yesterday, a week after scores of Christians were detained and reportedly abused by militias there for alleged proselytisation.

Flames were seen rising from the church, witnesses said. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning what it described as "assault," and that the church's priest was not inside and is unhurt.

Abdel-Salam al-Barghathi, a security official in Benghazi, said his forces stopped angry men from doing more damage to the church. He said they were angry about a protest by Christians in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo, where they set fire to the Libyan flag.

The protests came after death of one Egyptian Christian detainee in Libya, whose family says he died of torture. They say Ezzat Atallah, who died in detention in Tripoli after being transferred from his prison in Benghazi, was one of around 100 Christians, mostly Egyptians, who were detained by militias on suspicion of trying to covert Muslims to Christianity.

Al-Barghathi appeared to blame the Christian protesters for the violence. He said Atallah died of natural causes and that he confessed before his death. "I got everything taped. He confessed and we videotaped his confessions. Why do the Christians burn the flag and replace it with a cross?" he said.