The death toll is as of this writing 207 and rising. Please pray for the victims and their families and friends, and for all the Christians of Sri Lanka, as they cope with this awful horror. We pray that out of this will come a greater international awareness of the plight of persecuted Christians everywhere, and more serious efforts to protect them.
“Sri Lanka blasts: Seven suspects arrested as death toll reaches 190,” 9News, April 21, 2019:
Seven suspects have been arrested over the Easter Sunday terror bombings at churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, that killed at least 190 people and wounded hundreds more.
Sri Lanka’s defense minister Ruwan Wijewardena confirmed the arrests, according to Associated Press.
Eight blasts, thought to have been targeting worshippers and tourists, were reported across the country today, in the worst bout of violence in Sri Lanka since the South Asian country’s bloody civil war ended a decade ago. The death toll is expected to rise.
The government has imposed an island-wide curfew and a social media shutdown.
Earlier, the defense minister blamed religious extremists for what he called the “unfortunate terrorist incident”.
He said those “involved in this unfortunate terrorist incident will be taken into custody as soon as possible.”
About 8.45am local time, six near-simultaneous explosions occurred across three churches and three hotels.
St. Anthony’s Shrine and the hotels, Shangri-La, Kingsbury and the Cinnamon Grand, are in Colombo, the capital, and are frequented by foreign tourists.
The other blasts were at St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a majority Catholic town north of Colombo, and at Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa….
