On April 17, 2022, hundreds of Sri Lankans lit candles and displayed banners and placards during a silent protest in the capital Colombo, calling for justice for victims of the April 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks.
President Rajapaksa, through a special gazette last month, appointed the 13-member task force for the establishment of a 'One Country, One Law' concept in Sri Lanka and comprised members from the majority Sinhala and minority Muslim communities.
A tribunal of the Delhi high court has confirmed the extension of a five-year ban imposed on Islamic Research Foundation, set up by fugitive Zakir Naik who is accused of inspiring Muslim youths in India and abroad to commit terror acts.
President Maithripala Sirisena has issued a gazette notice banning three Islamic extremist organisations, including National Thowheeth Jama'ath that was blamed for the Easter bombings.
'The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult,' Sirisena's office said in a statement.
The curfew was imposed on Sunday after a group of miscreants carrying swords attacked some people travelling on a three-wheeler in Porathota area of the town. The vehicle was set on fire.
The commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.
A Dubai-based Indian couple had a narrow escape in the Sri Lanka blasts.
The security forces continue their hunt for members of the local terror group National Thowheeth Jamath which was behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in which 253 people were killed and over 500 injured.
The blockade of Facebook and WhatsApp has been imposed from mid-night following violent incidents between the minority Muslim and majority Sinhalese communities, officials said.
President Maithripala Sirisena said Friday that over 130 suspects linked to the Islamic State terror group have been operating in the country.
The suspicious van was wanted over the terror attacks and was taken into custody at Sungavila.
'What happened last Sunday is a great tragedy, an insult to humanity'
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