Published: 01:08 AM, 22 April 2019 Last Update: 10:51 AM, 22 April 2019
Morethan 200 people were killed and at least 450 injured in bomb blasts that rippedthrough churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, the firstmajor attack on the Indian Ocean island since the end of a civil war 10 yearsago.
Thegovernment declared a curfew in Colombo and blocked access to social media andmessaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp. It was unclear when thecurfew would be lifted, reports Reuters.
Butin a sign that the attacks on three churches and four hotels could lead tocommunal violence, police reported on Sunday night that there had been a petrolbomb attack on a mosque in the northwestern district of Puttalum and arsonattacks on two shops owned by Muslims in the western district of Kalutara.
Thegovernment has acknowledged that it had "prior information" ofattacks on churches involving a little known local Islamist group but didn't doenough about it.
Outof Sri Lanka's total population of around 22 million, 70 percent are Buddhist,12.6 percent Hindu, 9.7 percent Muslim and 7.6 percent Christian, according tothe country's 2012 census.
InFebruary-March last year, there were a series of religious clashes betweenSinhalese Buddhists and Muslims in the towns of Ampara and Kandy.
OnSunday afternoon, three police officers were killed during a security forcesraid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital several hours after the attacks, manyof which officials said were suicide bomb explosions. Police reported anexplosion at the house.
Thirteenarrests have been made, all of whom are Sri Lankans, police said.
"Altogether,we have information of 207 dead from all hospitals. According to theinformation as of now we have 450 injured people admitted to hospitals,"police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told reporters.
Governmentofficials said that 32 foreigners were killed and 30 injured in the explosionsthat tore through congregations and gatherings in hotels in Colombo, Negomboand Batticaloa.
Theyincluded five British people, two of whom had dual US citizenship, and threeIndians, according to officials in those countries.
Alsoamong the fatalities were three people from Denmark, two from Turkey, and onefrom Portugal, Sri Lankan officials said. There were also Chinese and Dutchamong the dead, according to media reports.
USSecretary of State Mike Pompeo said US nationals were among those killed, butdid not give details.
Therewere no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country whichwas at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009, a time when bombblasts in the capital were common.
PrimeMinister Ranil Wickremsinghe acknowledged that the government had some"prior information of the attack", though ministers were not told.
Hesaid there wasn't an adequate response and there needed to be an inquiry intohow the information was used.
Healso said the government needs to look at the international links of a localmilitant group.
AgenceFrance Presse reported that it had seen documents showing that Sri Lanka'spolice chief Pujuth Jayasundara issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit "prominentchurches". He cited a foreign intelligence service as reporting that alittle-known Islamist group was involved. A Sri Lanka police spokesman said hewas not aware of the intelligence report.
Dozenswere killed in one of the blasts at St. Sebastian's Gothic-style Catholicchurch in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo. Gunasekera said the police suspecteda suicide attack there. Pictures from the site showed bodies on the ground,blood on the church pews and a destroyed roof.
Localmedia reported 25 people were also killed in an attack on an evangelical churchin Batticaloa in Eastern Province.
Thehotels hit in Colombo were the Shangri-La, the Kingsbury, the Cinnamon Grandand the Tropical Inn near the national zoo. There was no word on casualties inthe hotels, but a witness told local TV he saw some body parts, including asevered head, lying on the ground beside the Tropical Inn.
Thefirst six explosions were all reported within a short period in the morningjust as church services were starting.
Oneof the explosions was at St. Anthony's Shrine, a Catholic church in Kochcikade,Colombo, a tourist landmark.
Theexplosion at the Tropical Inn happened later and there was an eighth explosionat the house that was the subject of the police raid in Colombo.
"Istrongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all SriLankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong," said SriLanka's prime minister in a Tweet.
"Pleaseavoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is takingimmediate steps to contain this situation."
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena said he had ordered the police special task force andmilitary to investigate who was behind the attacks and their agenda.
Themilitary was deployed, a military spokesman said, and security stepped up atColombo's international airport. Schools, universities and the Colombo StockExchange will be closed on Monday as the island state tries to recover from theattacks.
TheChristian community had already felt under pressure in Sri Lanka in recentyears. Last year, there were 86 verified incidents of discrimination, threatsand violence against Christians, according to the National ChristianEvangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), which represents more than 200 churchesand other Christian organisations.
Thisyear, the NCEASL recorded 26 such incidents, including one in which Buddhistmonks allegedly attempted to disrupt a Sunday worship service, with the lastone reported on March 25.
Theheads of major governments condemned the attacks.
USPresident Donald Trump said America offered "heartfelt condolences"to the Sri Lankan people and stood ready to help, Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said there was "no place for such barbarism in ourregion", and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the bombings were"an assault on all of humanity".
PopeFrancis, addressing people in St. Peter's Square, said: "I wish to expressmy affectionate closeness to the Christian community, hit while it was gatheredin prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence."
Christianscelebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Day after his death on thecross.
PrimeMinister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, where a gunman shot 50 people dead intwo mosques last month, said in a statement: "Collectively we must findthe will and the answers to end such violence."