Easter Bombings: Sri Lanka declares state of emergency

Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency which will come into effect on Monday from midnight until Tuesday, according to a press release from the president’s media division. This follows Easter Sunday’s suicide bomb blasts at churches and luxury hotels that killed 290 people and wounded more than 500. The decision was made by […]

Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency which will come into effect on Monday from midnight until Tuesday, according to a press release from the president’s media division.

This follows Easter Sunday’s suicide bomb blasts at churches and luxury hotels that killed 290 people and wounded more than 500.

The decision was made by Sri Lanka’s National Security Council, which referenced clauses in the prevention of terrorism under Emergency Regulations.

“The government has decided to gazette the clauses related to prevention of terrorism to emergency regulation and gazette it by midnight,” the president’s media unit said in a statement.

It said the measure would be confined to dealing with terrorism and would not impinge on freedom of expression.

The government has also proclaimed Tuesday would be a national day of mourning.