A group of Islamists surround the Abu Maqar Church in Shubra al-Kheima on Monday in an attempt to stop construction on the church's annex, claiming that the building is not licensed, said sources from the Qalyubiya security department.

Security forces were deployed to the area to convince the group to step down and allow work to resume, the sources claimed.

Ramsis al-Deiry, a member of the Shubra al-Kheima archbishopric's Millet Council, said group of Salafis and members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood surrounded the building and prevented workers from resuming construction.

The church has all the required licenses from the municipality for the construction, which had been postponed due to a lack of security and ongoing political instability, Deiry said.

“When the engineer started constructing the building, we found several complaints. Consequently, West Shubra District engineers urged approval on the renewal of the work, according to license issued by the municipalities. A decision was then issued for 15 days to correct the construction. When the engineers, contractor and workers started on the correction on Monday, everyone was surprised by the group of Salafis and Brotherhood [members] who surrounded the building and prevented workers from working," he stated.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm