Sri Lanka had been struck by 8 bomb blasts on easter sunday 21 Apr 2019. At least 200 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.
Churches, hotels and a housing complex were stuck by bomb blasts leaving Sri Lanka in a state of lock down. Several hundreds have also been wounded.
The 8 locations affected by the bombings.
- St. Anthony’s Shrine, Colombo
- Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo
- The Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo
- Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo
- A house in Mahawila Gardens, Dematagoda
- Tropical Inn Near Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia
- St. Sebastian’s Church, Negombo
- Zion Church, Batticaloa
Horrible scene from the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks today in Sri Lanka.#SriLanka pic.twitter.com/9wY6CQWlWN
— Noorullah kHan (@Noorull29231054) April 21, 2019
This is the deadliest violence Sri Lanka has seen since a bloody civil war ended a decade ago.
Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena described the bombings as a terrorist attack by religious extremists.
The explosions at three churches and three hotels collapsed ceilings and blew out windows, killing worshippers and hotel guests.
Most of those killed were Sri Lankans. But the three hotels and one of the churches, St. Anthony’s Shrine, are frequented by foreign tourists, and Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said the bodies of at least 27 foreigners from a variety of countries were recovered.
The government imposed a nationwide curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Viber, Snapchat and Messenger were blocked by the government, saying it needed to curtail the spread of false information and ease tension.
Confirmed: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Viber, Snapchat and Messenger blocked in #SriLanka following series of deadly church and hotel attacks; incident ongoing #EasterSundayAttacksLK #KeepItOn ⬇️https://t.co/xp4hSxvFOi pic.twitter.com/dcQ6COsWKB
— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) April 21, 2019
