At least 290 people were killed and at least 500 were wounded when explosions rocked churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka yesterday, on Catholic Easter, in the first major attack on the Indian Ocean island since civil war ended a decade ago. war.
Thirteen people were arrested and three policemen were killed when security forces stormed a house in the Sri Lankan capital hours after the attack, which some officials said was carried out by suicide bombers.
Agence France-Presse reported that it had access to documents showing that Sri Lankan police chief Pujut Jayasundara issued a warning to top police officials ten days ago, stating that suicide bombers were planning attacks on "famous churches". In the report, he cited foreign intelligence services that warned that the attacks were being planned by a little-known Islamist group.
A spokesman for the Sri Lankan police said he did not know anything about the report.
These are very well planned and coordinated attacks, but officials believe that it is too early to say who is behind them.
The government declared a state of emergency in Colombo and blocked access to social networks. It is unclear when the curfew will be lifted.
"In total, we have information on 207 dead from all hospitals. At this moment, we know that 450 people have been admitted to hospitals due to injuries," police spokesman Ruvan Gunasekera told reporters yesterday during the day.
Three churches in various parts of the country and four hotels in Columbus were attacked. At least 27 of the dead were foreign nationals, including people from Turkey, China, India, Britain and the Netherlands, media reported.
Yesterday, no one claimed responsibility for the attacks in a country that has been at war for decades. Since the Tamil Tigers were defeated in 2009, violence of this scale has not been recorded in Sri Lanka.
Dozens of people were killed in one of the explosions at the St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Kutavapitiya, north of Columbus. Gunasekera said that the police believe that a suicide attack was carried out there. The photos show the bodies of the victims, blood on the floor of the church and the destroyed roof.
Local media reported that 25 people were killed in an attack on an evangelical church in Batticaloa in the eastern part of the country.
In Colombo, the hotels "Shangri La", "Kingsbury", "Sinamon Grand" and "Tropical Inn" near the zoo were attacked. Yesterday, there was no more precise information about the victims in the attacks on the hotels, and an eyewitness told the BBC that the target was the restaurants of at least two hotels, during the breakfast service.
The first six explosions were all reported within a very short period of time just after Easter morning services had begun.
One of the explosions took place at St. Anthony's Temple, a Catholic church in Colombo that is also a tourist destination.
The explosion in "Tropical Inn" happened later, and the eighth explosion was in a house in Colombo. The police and the media announced that three policemen were killed and that seven people were detained during the search of that location. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe convened a meeting of the National Security Council at his home.
"I strongly condemn this cowardly attack on our people. I call on all Sri Lankans to remain united and strong in these tragic times," he tweeted. "Please refrain from spreading unverified reports and speculations. The government is taking all measures to bring the situation under control." President Maitripala Sirisena said he had ordered special police units and the army to determine who was behind the attack.
The army has been deployed throughout the country, and security has been increased at Colombo's international airport.
Heads of government around the world condemned the attacks yesterday.
US President Donald Trump said that America offers "heartfelt condolences" to the people of Sri Lanka and is ready to help. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "there is no place for such barbaric acts in our region", while Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that the bombings were "an attack on all humanity".
Pope Francis, addressing tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square who gathered to hear his Easter address, said: "I want to express my closeness and affection to the Christian community, which was affected during prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence."
Jasinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, where last month an attacker killed 50 people in an attack on a mosque, said in a statement. "Together we must find the will and ways to end such violence."
Violence against Christians has increased in recent years
Local Christian groups claim that they have faced increased intimidation by some extremist Buddhist monks in recent years. Last year saw clashes between the majority Buddhist community and minority Muslims, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam.
Last year, 86 incidents of discrimination, threats and violence against Christians were confirmed, according to the National Christian Evangelistic Association of Sri Lanka, which represents more than 200 churches and other Christian organizations. There have been 26 such incidents this year, including one in which a Buddhist monk allegedly tried to prevent a Sunday mass, in which at least one person was killed. Of the total population in Sri Lanka of about 22 million, 70 percent are Buddhists, 12,6 Hindus, 9,7 Muslims and 7,6 Christians.
A 2018 State Department report on the state of human rights in Sri Lanka stated that Buddhist monks regularly attempt to close down Christian and Muslim places of worship.
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