Attacks in Sri Lanka. What is this Islamist movement accused in the investigation?

The Sri Lankan authorities have accused the local Islamist movement National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) after the series of attacks that hit churches and hotels on Sunday April 21, killing at least 290 and injuring around 500. At this stage of the investigation, the attacks have not been claimed.

Before being blamed on Monday by the Sri Lankan authorities for the Easter Sunday attacks, the main feat of arms of the local Islamist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) was to be linked to the degradation of Buddhist statues it a few months ago.

The shift from fighting radical Buddhist monks to spectacular suicide attacks on luxury hotels and Christian minority churches celebrating Easter Mass is a sudden rise in power for this little-known extremist group.

At this point in the investigation, Sri Lanka has arrested 24 people for the bombings, which have yet to be claimed.

Colombo has identified the NTJ as responsible for the outburst of violence that has ravaged the South Asian island and is seeking to know whether the group has received external support in Sri Lanka. “We find it hard to see how a small organization in this country can do all of this,” the government spokesman said.

Attacks “designed to increase community tensions”

For the Soufan Center, a New York-based center for the study of global security threats, the careful planning and coordination of attacks in Sri Lanka bears strong resemblances to “attacks by Salafi-jihadist groups, particularly those where groups locals have received foreign aid ” .

The center thus draws parallels with the Christmas Eve attacks in 2000 in Indonesia, perpetrated by a local extremist movement in coordination with al-Qaeda, as well as the 2005 suicide attacks in hotels in the Jordanian capital Amman. “These attacks are designed to increase community tensions and destabilize the governments of the countries where they take place,” notes the Soufan Center.

The two main international jihadist organizations, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, have been seeking for several years to recruit from the Muslim communities of the Indian subcontinent. Their propaganda insists on the persecution of which they believe the Muslims in the region are victims.

The NTJ first entered the spotlight in Sri Lanka when its members vandalized Buddhist statues last December, a move that outraged the country’s Buddhist majority.

A warning given to the police ten days ago

Abdul Razik, one of the NTJ officials, has been arrested several times for inciting religious hatred. In January, Sri Lanka police seized 100 kilograms of powerful explosives from a cache and arrested four Islamist extremists in connection with the seizure. No particular group had been charged.

A controversy is mounting in Sri Lanka over whether the authorities had taken adequate security measures ahead of the attacks on Sunday.

The NTJ was the subject of a police alert ten days ago, according to which the group was preparing suicide attacks against churches of the Christian minority and the Indian embassy in Colombo. This warning was based, according to this document consulted by AFP, on a report “from a foreign intelligence agency” .

Aishwarya Yogeshwar

Aishwarya Yogeshwar is the visionary founder of CGI Jaffna, a pioneering organization dedicated to fostering innovation and community growth in the Jaffna region. With a deep passion for news publishing, Aishwarya combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a keen interest in delivering impactful and engaging stories. Her commitment to creating a platform for reliable news and meaningful discourse reflects her dedication to empowering communities through knowledge and information. Aishwarya’s leadership and innovative approach make her a driving force in the world of media and communication.

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