Sri Lanka explosions: More than 200 killed as churches and hotels targeted

At least 207 people have been killed and 450 hurt in explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, police say.

At least eight blasts were reported. Three churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo's Kochchikade district were targeted during Easter services.

The Shangri-La, Kingsbury, Cinnamon Grand and a fourth hotel, all in the capital Colombo, were also hit.

A national curfew has been put in place "until further notice" and social media networks have been temporarily blocked.

Reports say seven people have been arrested, but it not yet clear who is responsible for the attacks.

Thommo wrote:Absolutely terrible. The poor families, the poor people.

And then there will be the knock on tragedy of Sri Lanka's booming tourism being knocked for six which will ruin more lives.

Utterly incomprehensible.

Mononoke wrote:What puzzles me is that there is only a very small Catholic population here. about 5%. and they have never had any issues with the muslims.

Thommo wrote:Everything about terror attacks always puzzles me. I just can't get my head around wanting to murder innocent civilians.

It doesn't make the world better. I can't imagine for one nanosecond this will make Sri Lankan Muslims safer and happier (assuming the terrorists were Islamists, although the equivalent applies to any other group) it just causes suffering and it feels like everyone already knows this.

tuco wrote:Do we know what they want?

Sri Lanka's population practices a variety of religions. As of the 2011 census 70.2% of Sri Lankans were Theravada Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims (mainly Sunni) and 7.4% Christians (6.1% Roman Catholic and 1.3% other Christian).

aban57 wrote:
I mean, if they were the majority, I understand the willingness of some to create a "get out out here" scenario. But there, it just doesn't make any sense. Unless "here" is our planet, of course...

tuco wrote:Let me rephrase the question ... Can we ask them what they want? Because speculations are clearly pointless.

I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation.

Prime Minister @RW_UNP says information about these attacks had been received in advance. "We must look into why adequate precautions were not taken. Neither I nor the Ministers were kept informed"

Mononoke wrote:The attackers were Islamists from the looks of it