Fears of reprisal attacks characterise Sri Lanka’s first weekend of religious services
The ongoing hunt for terrorist suspects in Sri Lanka, and fears of reprisal attacks, have cast a shadow over the country still reeling from the devastation of the Easter Sunday bombings.
Sri Lankans of different faiths were being urged to pray privately amid fears of further attacks Friday, as the country’s prime minister told CNN that security forces were also working to pick up any terrorist “sleepers” — who could activate to initiate another round of attacks.
As Sri Lanka enters its first weekend of religious services following Sunday’s mass bombings, Catholic services across Colombo have been suspended and the government urged Muslims not to gather publicly for the Friday prayer service known as the Jum’ah prayer.
The Guardian reports that Sri Lanka’s president has said investigations into civil war-era human rights abuses weakened the country’s security apparatus and left it vulnerable to last Sunday’s suicide bomb attacks, as members of the government continued to try to diffuse blame for the attacks.