Sri Lanka: Bomb explodes in van near Colombo church
What's the story
On Monday evening, a bomb exploded in a van near Colombo's St Anthony's Church, which was gutted during Sunday's attack. According to reports, the bomb went off when officials tried to diffuse it. Police confirmed it was a "controlled explosion" of a suspicious package found in a van. A short while ago, police found 87 bomb detonators from a bus station in the country's capital.
What happened
Suspicious packet forced people to run
According to Guardian, the package was found inside a densely populated neighborhood. Soon people ran for their lives, holding their children, while police moved in the opposite direction. The officers caught a youth who was wearing a green t-shirt. He was searched thoroughly. As police tried to haul him into a car, a mob surrounded them and attacked the youth.
Details
Locals tried to thrash the youth
Reportedly, the locals tried to barge into the building. Around the same time, the bomb in the van went off. Till now, 290 people have died and 500 have been injured in well-coordinated attacks. The bomb blasts started on Easter Sunday and continued till afternoon. Police confirmed 24 people have been arrested. Reportedly, radical group Thowheed Jamath is responsible for the attack.
Twitter Post
Watch: People ran and screamed on streets
Small explosion outside St Anthony’s church right now. People fleeing the scene pic.twitter.com/GjadgTwoZ5
— michael safi (@safimichael) April 22, 2019
Reaction
Separately, Pope Francis condemned the attack
For the second time in two days, Pope Francis condemned the attack. "I want to express my loving closeness to the Christian community, targeted while they were gathered in prayer, and all the victims of such cruel violence," the Pope said on Sunday. He asked world leaders to work towards peace. On Monday he reiterated that "terrorist and inhuman acts" can never be justified.
Aftermath
Sri Lanka declared emergency, blocked social media
Sri Lankan authorities declared an emergency which will come to effect from Monday midnight. Social media has also been blocked in the island country. "The government has decided to gazette the clauses related to prevention of terrorism to emergency regulation and gazette it by midnight," President Sirisena said. He added he would seek assistance from foreign countries to track international links of Thowheed Jamath.