Face coverings in Sri Lanka banned after Easter Sunday attacks

Sri Lanka has banned face coverings in public, following the suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed at least 250 people and injured hundreds.

President Maithruipala Sisirsena said he was using an emergency law to impose the restriction from Monday.

Any face garment which “hinders identification” is no longer allowed to ensure national security though no specific mention was made of the niqab and burka that are worn by Muslim women.

In these last days, some politicians had proposed a ban on women wearing the burqa, saying it should be outlawed on security grounds.

Sri Lanka remains on high alert eight days after Islamist attacks that hit churches and hotels.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested, but local officials warned that more militants remained at large.

Sunday church services were cancelled across the country as a precaution, but worshipers in the capital gathered to pray outside St Anthony’s Shrine, which was badly damaged in the attacks.

The number of people arrested in connection with the bloodshed rose to 150. Sri Lankan authorities are also hunting for around 140 followers of ISIS, which has said it was involved in the bombings, but has not given details.

Via BBC