Sri Lanka attacks a ‘retaliation for NZ’

Bombings were revenge for mosque killings in Christchurch, says govt

COLOMBO: Suicide bombings that killed more than 300 people in Sri Lanka during the weekend were carried out in revenge for last month’s attacks on two mosques in New Zealand, the government said, citing an initial police probe.

Yesterday’s revelation came as the death toll in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and highend hotels rose to 321, with hundreds more wounded and still in hospital.

“The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch,” state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene told parliament.

Fifty people were shot dead on March 15 at two mosques in the New Zealand city by an avowed white nationalist.

Wijewardene said the group behind the Sri Lanka bombings was the little-known National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), an extremist group previously blamed for defacing Buddhist statues.

Police have detained at least 40 people as they investigate the worst act of violence in the country since a civil war ended a decade ago.

Meanwhile, grieving Sri Lankans began to bury their dead yesterday and the country was observing a day of national mourning.

Three minutes of silence were marked nationwide from 8.30am, the time the first suicide bomber struck on Sunday, unleashing carnage at three hotels and three churches packed with worshippers.

Flags were lowered to half mast on government buildings, and liquor shops were ordered closed for the day.

Hours earlier, the government imposed a state of emergency giving police and the military special powers including the ability to arrest suspects without a court order.

More than a thousand people gathered yesterday at St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, north of the capital, which was among those hit in the blasts, to pay tribute to the dead.

“It’s beyond words,” said Father Suranga Warnakulasuriya.

“It’s very hard to bear. For me, it is very difficult, so imagine how hard it is for the loved ones .”

The attacks were the worst ever against the country’s small Christian minority, who make up just seven percent of the 21 million population. — AFP