The interior of a church hit by an explosion in Negombo,
Sri Lanka was hit by a series of eight explosions on Sunday April 21, in the midst of the celebration of Easter. Several churches and luxury hotels have been hit killing at least 290 people. No claim has yet been made, twenty-four people suspected of being in connection with the attack have been arrested. Return in five questions on these attacks of exceptional violence.
The Sri Lanka was hit Sunday, April 21 by a series of attacks against four luxury hotels and three churches celebrating Easter Mass, leaving more than 290 dead.
What happened ?
Powerful explosions occurred early Sunday morning, around 8:30 a.m. local time (5 a.m. KST), in three luxury hotels on the waterfront in the capital Colombo. The affected establishments, Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon, are located within a few hundred yards of each other.
At Cinnamon, a suicide bomber, a Sri Lankan who had checked in at the hotel the day before under the name of Mohamed Azzam Mohamed, set off his bomb in the line of customers, who came to enjoy an Easter buffet in a restaurant of the establishment. At Shangri-La, the restaurant was also ravaged.
In parallel, explosions struck three Catholic churches where the faithful were gathered to celebrate Easter Mass, causing carnage. The famous Saint Anthony Church in Colombo, Saint Sebastian Church in Negombo, a locality located about thirty kilometers north of the capital, and another church in the town of Batticaloa, on the other side of the Sri Lanka, on the eastern coast.
A few hours later, two new explosions occurred. One hit a hotel in Dehiwala, a southern suburb of Colombo. Another occurred in a house in Orugodawatta, a northern suburb of the capital, where a suicide bomber blew himself up during a police operation. There are a total of eight explosions.
On Monday, police announced that a “homemade bomb” was found late Sunday on a road leading to the main terminal at Colombo airport and that it had been successfully defused by the Sri Lankan air force. . The airport remains open under high security following the attacks.
Who are the victims ?
The latest official toll shows 290 dead but could be further aggravated. More than 500 people were injured.
According to the police, 37 foreigners were among the victims, in this country very popular with tourists for its paradisiacal beaches, its tea plantations and its green nature, including the British, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Chinese and the Americans. The United States and Great Britain have confirmed the deaths of nationals. India has also announced the death of three of its nationals, and a Portuguese has died, according to LUSA.
On the French side, most of the 400 customers on a package holiday in Sri Lanka have been contacted by their tour operators and almost all wish to stay on site, assured the French union of companies in the sector (Seto) on Sunday. “No tour operator has declared having any claim with customers,” said the president of this union, after a crisis meeting.
Who is responsible ?
The attacks have not been claimed at this point. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declined to name any suspects. But he announced the arrest of eight people. “So far the names we have are local” but investigators are trying to find out if they have any “foreign links” , the head of government said in a television address.
The police spokesman for his part said that twenty-four people were arrested. They all belong to the same radical group, according to the same source.
At least two of the eight attacks were carried out by suicide bombers. Three police officers were killed when another suicide bomber blew himself up during a police raid on a house where there were suspects.
He also admitted that “there was information” about the risk of attacks. This information “must be investigated” , he added. The head of the national police, Pujuth Jayasundara, had issued an alert ten days ago, on the basis of information “from a foreign intelligence agency” warning that an Islamist movement, the NTJ, was planning “suicide attacks against important churches ” and the Indian Embassy in Colombo.
The NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath) became known last year in connection with acts of vandalism committed against Buddhist statues. “We must also examine the reasons why adequate precautions were not taken,” said the Prime Minister. He added that the first priority of the government was to “apprehend the terrorists” .
How did Sri Lanka react?
The government has implemented a curfew “until further notice” . He also called for the temporary blocking of social networks to counter the spread of “false or incorrect” information . Three people were arrested at this point, police said.
The authorities have tightened security checks at Colombo airport. Sri Lankan Airlines has advised its customers to arrive four hours before their flight.
Airline passengers will be able to cross roadblocks on the airport road during curfew by showing their passports and tickets, the airline said.
Embassies in Sri Lanka have called on their nationals to avoid travel and stay away from public places.
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