THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
PAGE 3
In 1854 when Lawrence was founded, some of the other names considered were Yankee Town, New Boston and Wakarusa, the Kaw Indian word for "hip-deep" water.
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Grief wracks village after beheadings in Syria
MAGGIE MICHAEL Associated Press
EL-AOUR, Egypt — This village of small mud alleys and brick homes is shattered by grief. Women draped in black are hoarse from screaming. Men sob in silence, at times shaking their heads as if to ex-
pet the horror from their minds. Just last year, 13 young men from el-Aour, a Christian-majority farming community in Egypt's Nile River Valley, traveled to neighboring Libya, among the tens of thousands of impoverished Egyptians seeking work there.
But they became victims of Libya's chaos. They were among 21 Christians dragged off by militants in December and January. After nearly 50 days knowing nothing of their fate, their families on late Sunday saw their monstrous, videotaped last moments: The 21, wearing orange jumpsuits, were marched onto a Libyan beach, forced to kneel with a masked, knife-wielding militant standing behind each, and then beheaded.
On Monday, Bushra Fawzi could not stop weeping. He saw his son Shenouda in the video.
The deaths touched everyone in the village's population of around 3,400.
"I had been looking for a bride for him," Fawzi gasped. "He is my first and eldest son. My first joy and happiness."
"I want his body back. If they dumped it in the sea, I want it back. If they set fire to it, I want its dust." And he wanted revenge — to "take hold of his
murderer, tear him apart, eat his liver and his flesh."
He and others in the village vented anger at the Egyptian government, saying it failed to help them. Many accusing it of ignoring them because they were Christian: "If there were Muslims among the 21, they would have been rescued. But no one paid attention," one woman screamed to reporters outside her house. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi "did nothing to our sons because they are Christians."
After the video came out,
el-Sissi went on national -TV
"I want his body back. If they dumped it in the sea, I want it back. If they set fire to it, I want its dust."
BUSHRA FAWZI Father of beheaded boy
and vowed vengeance, and hours later, Egyptian warplane struck Islamic State group targets in their main stronghold in Libya, Darna. In a show of support, el-Sissi visited the pope of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christian Church at the main cathedral in Cairo, and his prime minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, visited el-Aour on Monday, meeting with grieving families.
El-Sissi was elected last spring with overwhelming support from Egypt's Christians, who backed his ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi from power. Still, the minority community feels it remains
as second-class citizens, long complaining of discrimination. During protests in Cairo over the abduction of the 21 in Libya last week, demonstrators chanted, "The blood of the Copts is not cheap."
Libya, rich in oil and short on labor, has long been a magnet for Egyptians. Libya's 2011 civil war left much of the country in ruins, creating a boom for skilled foreign workers. Egyptians have jumped at the opportunity: they are the largest single group of foreign workers in Libya. They have continued to go even as Egyptians, and Copts in particular, have become targets for Islamic extremists flourishing in Libya's chaos.
The 21 were abducted in the central Libyan city of Sirte in December and January, most of them when militants stormed their housing compound, picking out the Christians from among the Muslims.
Fawzi said the last time he spoke to Shenouda before his abduction, his son told him he felt unsafe and wanted to come home but the road out of Sirtre was not secure. "I told him, forget about money and come back."
El-Aour on Monday seemed to scream with the pain of its people. Many had watched the video when it was aired in full on a private Egyptian TV station. Some residents gathered in the courtyard of its Virgin Mary Church, weeping and embracing each other. One man collapsed on the ground, screaming to God, "You are the avenger, You are the almighty."
PETR JOSEK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
An Ukrainian soldier strikes a V-Victory sign driving on his vehicle on the road between the towns of Debaltseve and Artemivsk, Ukraine, Monday.
Battle persists for Ukraine railway hub, despite deal
PETR JOSEK Associated Press
UHANSKE, Ukraine
LUHANSKE, Ukraine — Intense artillery exchanges between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists persisted Monday around a strategic town in eastern Ukraine — fighting that threatens to dash a cease-fire deal brokered by European leaders last week.
Under the cease-fire agreement negotiated by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, the warring sides are to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line Tuesday. That plan already looks at risk, with the rebels saying they are not satisfied that conditions are in place for the process to go ahead.
Associated Press reporters in Luhanske, a government-held town 15 kilome
ters (9 miles) northwest of the bitterly contested railway hub of Debaltseve, heard sustained shelling Monday. Some of the artillery appeared to be outgoing, suggesting it was being fired by Ukrainian troops.
Debaltsse, still in government hands, remains in contention despite the cease-fire. The rebels insist the town should revert to their control because they have encircled it. A loaded Grad rocket launcher was seen pointing in the direction of Debalsse, but it was not fired while AP journalists were present.
Speaking by telephone Monday night, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed concerns about the continued fighting at Debaltseve and "also expressed the wish that the OSCE observers
have a free access to continue their work on the ground," an official in Holland's entourage said. The official spoke anonymously because they were not allowed to speak publicly.
Observers from the Organization from Security and Cooperation in Europe, who are supposed to monitor the cease-fire, said Sunday that separatists denied them access to Debaltsseve.
Despite the cease-fire that went into effect early Sunday morning, five Ukrainian troops were killed and 25 were wounded in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Monday.
Separatist military official Eduard Basurin said in a televised news conference Monday that the government overnight lobbed artillery at Horlivka, a town under rebel control.
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