5 guards shot dead in Egypt's Borg el-Arab

Dozens of locals Sunday evening blocked the road leading to the Kom el-Dekka morgue in Alexandria, Egypt, in protest against the killing of four Christians and a Muslim in the Borg el-Arab area outside the city. The protesters expressed anger at the incident and demanded that those responsible are found and held accountable. Raymon Malak Zaki, a relative of one of the victims, said the five people killed were guarding an empty plot of land belonging to a Christian family in the Borg el-Arab area and were surprised by a group of unidentified gunmen who opened fire on them before fleeing. He said the land was not the subject of any legal problems apart from an incident when locals suspected a church will be built there. A reconciliation meeting was held and the owners signed a pledge that no churches will be built at the site. Zaki criticised security authorities' handling of the crisis: "We've been standing in the morgue since morning and it's like no-one died." Local prosecutors have inspected the site of the incident, he said, but autopsy on the five victims' bodies is yet to be completed, he said, demanding that those responsible for the shooting are identified and held accountable.