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The Sri Lankan government has declared curfew with immediate effect and it is not clear when it will be lifted, Reuters reported. The decision has come after a seventh blast killed at least two people in Dehiwala, near Colombo.
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The death of over 156 people in the serial blasts on Easter Sunday had barely sunk in, there was a seventh bombing in the country’s capital the same day, according to agency reports.
Earlier in the day, multiple explosions targeted the hundreds of worshippers at the St. Anthony's Church in Kochchikade, Kotahena, St. Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya in Katana, and the Zion church in Batticaloa, who were there to commemorate Easter Sunday. The other three blasts where reported at the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury five-star hotels in Colombo.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe called for an emergency cabinet meeting, while President Maithripla Sirisena warned of stern action against the conspirators. Schools have been ordered to remain shut for two more days and passengers have been asked to reach Colombo airport at least four hours before the flight.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced a series of attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka as “cruel and cynical,” the Associated Press reported.
In a telegram of condolences sent to his Sri Lankan counterpart, the Russian leader said Moscow remains a “reliable partner of Sri Lanka in the fight against international terrorism.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan too called the attack “an assault on all of humanity.”
The Archbishop of Colombo is calling for those responsible for the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka to be punished “mercilessly.” Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith called on Sri Lanka’s government to launch a “very impartial strong inquiry” and to punish those found responsible “mercilessly because only animals can behave like that,” according to the agency report.
