Bloody attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka
Three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka have been targeted by attacks. According to the latest reports, more than 200 people have been killed and 450 others injured in these attacks. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Easter Sunday services in Sri Lanka were marred by bloodshed. According to the latest reports, at least 207 people have been killed in multiple attacks on churches and hotels in the country. More than 450 people have been injured.
The death toll is rising by the minute. At noon local time, police reported around 50 dead, but that figure has been changing by the hour. The death toll is likely to continue to rise.
Three luxury hotels and a church in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and two other churches near the capital have been targeted.
The attacks took place between 8:30 and 9 a.m. local time.
Dozens of the victims are foreign citizens, including citizens from Britain, the United States, and the Netherlands.
Two churches, St. Anthony's in Colombo and St. Sebastian's in Negombo, north of Colombo, were among the first targets of the attacks. Christians were celebrating Easter at the time of the attack.
Another explosion in Colombo
Following the series of explosions in Sri Lanka, another explosion occurred near a zoo in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Media reports have reported that two people were killed in the explosion.
Sri Lanka's police chief warned 10 days ago of the possibility of suicide attacks on churches and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan police chief said the attacks could be carried out by an Islamist extremist group. He said his source of information was foreign security agencies.
The group the Sri Lankan police chief is referring to is an Islamic group called the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath, which was founded in Tamil Nadu, India, in 2004. The group claims to introduce "true Islam" to Muslims and non-Muslims.
The group was blamed for the destruction of Buddhist statues in Sri Lanka last year. It is not yet clear whether Sunday's attacks in Sri Lanka are linked to the group.
The majority of Sri Lanka's population is Buddhist. However, there are also Muslim, Hindu and Christian minorities. 12% of Sri Lanka's 21 million people are Muslim, 10% Hindu and 7% Christian. The majority of Christians are Roman Catholic.
Identifying the perpetrators of the attack
Sri Lanka's defense minister announced Sunday afternoon local time that those responsible for the series of attacks on hotels and churches had been identified. In a news conference, the defense minister described the attacks as a "terrorist incident" and that they were planned and carried out by an "extremist group."
The Sri Lankan official did not name any specific group or individual.
The Defense Minister also announced a 12-hour curfew across Sri Lanka, starting at 6 p.m. local time.
Reactions to the bloody attacks in Sri Lanka
In response to the killing of innocent people in Sri Lanka, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called it "cowardly terrorist attacks" and strongly condemned it.
The German president wrote in a letter to his Sri Lankan counterpart that he was “shocked and appalled by these cowardly terrorist attacks.” Steinmeier also wrote in his letter: “These attacks are particularly despicable and disgusting in that a large number of believers were targeted in these malicious attacks while they were worshipping on the religious day of Easter.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also expressed her condolences in a message to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. Merkel said she was “saddened and shocked to learn of the attacks” and added: “It is shocking that people who had gathered for Easter services were deliberately targeted with malicious attacks.”
The German Chancellor stressed that “religious hatred must not be allowed to prevail.” He continued: “In these difficult moments, we mourn with the survivors of the victims and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
Iran also condemned the terrorist attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Abbas Mousavi strongly condemned the attacks in a tweet on Sunday afternoon and expressed deep sympathy with the families of the victims of these crimes and the government and people of Sri Lanka.
Source: DW
