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Fires broke out on Sunday in two churches annexed to monasteries in southern Egypt, withÌýanother fire breakingÌýout in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, amid official denial of foul play, state-run Ahram online newspaper , citing the Coptic Orthodox Cultural .

The two fires that erupted in the southern Egyptian Asyut and Minya provinces were extinguished withÌýno casualties.Ìýthe added. The Asyut fire was put out by firefighters, also with no causalities, Asyut governor Essam Saad said in a statement.

The fire started in a garbage pile near the wall of the monastery's residential buildings, the governorÌýadded.

The fire was under the controlÌýofÌýthe local fire departmentÌýSaad noted, and he urgedÌýthe media not to publish unofficial statements regardingÌýthe incident to avoid sparking fears among citizens.

Photos published by local media showed huge flames and smoke around, outside and inside the three churches.

Social media activists shared online videos of the blazes showing huge losses inflicted on the churches.

Later in the day, a fire eruptedÌýin a church in Alexandria,Ìýleaving one man injured. No further details were immediately available.

Preliminary findings released by the state indicateÌýthat both the Alexandria and Minya fires were caused by "electrical faults".

No official statements have been released so far by the prosecution-general, the interior ministry or the official spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the newÌýfires.

The fires coincided with the celebrations of the Assumption of Mother Mary to Heaven amid huge gatherings of Copts.

Earlier last week, similar fires erupted in three Egyptian churches, one in Minya and two in Giza provinceÌýwest of Cairo.

The first that broke out in the working classÌýImbaba neighbourhood in Giza claimed the lives of 41 worshipers, including 15 children and the church priest.

Meanwhile, Bishop Ermia, a member of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, did not rule out foul play in contrastÌýto the authorities' official narrative.

"[The fires at churches] occurred systematically…..this is an alarm to the state. We need to join forces to be able to surpass this crisis. I don't talk about the economic crisis and the rising prices. We all suffer in this world,"Ìýhe said. "But when the country loses its lovers and those who backed it[the Copts], this is a dangerous start of further hazardous issues. This must be stopped. This should be investigated."ÌýÌý ÌýÌý

"What I worry about…is the timings when these incidents take place,"Ìýthe bishop added.

Egyptian Christians are known for being supporters of the regime of Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. They make up approximately 10 to 15 per cent of the 103 million population of Muslim-majority Egypt;Ìýmost of themÌýare Coptic Orthodox. They areÌýamong the world's oldest Christian communities.