Sri Lanka marks 3 years since 2019 Easter attack

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka marks one of its darkest days in history on Thursday, with the second commemoration of the deadly Easter Sunday terror attacks which claimed the lives of more than 260 and injured at least 500 others.

The country was left devastated on April 21 in 2019 after a group of suicide attackers of the now-outlawed local extremist organization National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) carried out a series of blasts at St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, Zion Church in Batticaloa, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Shangri-La hotels in Colombo and a guest house in Dehiwala.

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency immediately after the bombings and the probes launched into the incident led to the arrest of many who have had links to the suicide bombers.

Special religious ceremonies are taking place under the patronage of the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, in remembrance of the victims of the massacre.