Sri Lanka to declare emergency from midnight after Easter day blasts that killed 290
The government has decided to gazette the clauses related to prevention of terrorism to emergency regulation and gazette it by midnight, Sri Lanka president’s media unit said in a statement.
world Updated: Apr 22, 2019 14:55 IST
TOPSHOT - Sri Lankan security personnel walk through debris following an explosion in St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of the capital Colombo, on April 21, 2019. - A series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on April 21, killing nearly 160 people, including dozens of foreigners. (Photo by STR / AFP)(AFP)
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will declare a nationwide emergency from midnight on Monday following Easter Sunday suicide bomb blasts at churches and luxury hotels that killed 290 people and wounded more than 500, his office said.
“The government has decided to gazette the clauses related to prevention of terrorism to emergency regulation and gazette it by midnight,” the president’s media unit said in a statement.
It said the measure would be confined to dealing with terrorism and would not impinge on freedom of expression.
First Published: Apr 22, 2019 14:55 IST