Sri Lanka in a state of emergency: new explosions and 310 dead

Sri Lanka He decreed the state of emergency and continued to search for those responsible for the wave of suicide bombings causing 310 dead and 500 wounded the day before, a bloodbath attributed to a local Islamist movement whose purpose is to determine possible international links. Although the attacks have not yet been claimed, the presidency decreed the state of emergency starting Monday in the interest of "public security," the newspaper reported. AFP.

A new explosion occurred Monday in a van near a church of Colombo, the capital, while explosive experts deactivated the bomb. Although there were no casualties, there was panic among the people nearby and in a video posted by reporters at the scene, people were seen fleeing and fleeing terrified by the new explosion. Police found a total of 87 detonators near the main bus station in Colombo.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena decided to declare the state of national emergency and asked the international community to help capture those from abroad who supported the local group National Thowheeth Jamath in the organization of his attacks. Undersecretary of the Government, Rajitha Senaratne, said he was convinced that the attacks could not have been carried out by a single group in the country. "There is an international network without which these attacks would not have been carried out," he said..

Whatever the case may be, behind the attacks, there is also a local jihadist group, the government said, adding that it was the National Thowheed Jamath. The government has also recognized major flaws in the intelligence services, ordered an investigation and introduced a new curfew. The perpetrators of the attacks were seven suicide bombers, said a government official, Ariyananda Welianga, adding that Many of the eight attacks were committed by one person each, while at least one other attack – at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo – the attackers were at least two.

Three of the four children of the Danish entrepreneur who owns the Asos online clothing sales group were part of the 290 dead in the attacks. In the days leading up to the attack, one of the daughters of millionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, Alma, had posted on Instagram a photo of her brothers in the swimming pool of a hotel in Sri Lanka. Among the dead are at least 36 foreigners, including Indians, Portuguese, Turks, British, Australians, Japanese, Americans, Danes and a Frenchman. Fourteen others are still missing and may be among the unidentified victims of the morgue.

The attacks, attributed by the authorities to a local Islamist movement, were aimed at Four hotels and three churches during Easter Mbadin mourning for the Christian minority, which represents only 7% of the 21 million inhabitants of this predominantly Buddhist island (70%). The country also has 12% Hindus and 10% Muslims. The attacks have awakened the memory of the dark period of the civil war, which ended just 10 years ago. Christians in general were not the target of violence in the country, mainly because tensions existed between Buddhists and Muslims.

At Colombo International Airport, nervous and exhausted travelers lined up on Monday, while heavily armed soldiers guarded the main entrance and several entrances. The goal of tourists is to get out of Sri Lanka as quickly as possible. Martin Ewest, a 44-year-old German teacher, arrived on the island a few days ago for a relaxed vacation with his wife and 12-year-old daughter. Since the attacks, "we want to leave as soon as possible," he said.

He regretted that the Embbady does not offer help because they are on vacation. The airline said that she could not do anything and that the hotel did not help her either. "It's a difficult situation, we are easy targets, until we can leave next week." A 33-year-old Pakistani came with the idea of ​​traveling across the country "but now we are afraid". "We just want to leave, it's a ruined holiday," he said. Client anxiety is perceived in hotels, especially in hotels facing the sea in Colombo, where are the majority of the 5 stars and that Monday were under close security measures.

S.D.