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Sri Lanka Renews Easter Bombing State of Emergency for Another Month - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has prolonged the nationwide state of emergency, imposed immediately following a series of deadly attacks on Easter Sunday, for another month, the Ada Derana news portal reported.
Sputnik

According to the Ada Derana news portal, the president signed a relevant document earlier in the day based on the current security situation in the country.

Earlier in May, Sri Lanka reportedly introduced another 12-hour curfew in its North Western Province in the wake of unrest that occurred in the region over the weekend.

An initial curfew was imposed in North Western Province on 12 May following civil unrest in the city of Chilaw that was reportedly ignited by an inflammatory Facebook post meant to incite racial tensions. Several messaging applications, such as Viber, WhatsApp and Facebook, were blocked on 13 May to prevent "false propaganda".

READ MORE: Sri Lanka Bans 3 Islamist Groups Suspected of Being Involved in Easter Bombings

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Sri Lanka has been on high alert since a string of bombings devastated the country on 21 April.

A state of emergency went into effect on 22 April after a series of deadly explosions hit the island nation on Easter Sunday, killing at least 262 people. The blasts occurred at several hotels and Catholic churches in Colombo and other cities. The Daesh* terrorist group reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks.

A total of 73 people, including nine women, have been arrested in connection with the bombings. According to Acting Inspector General of Police Chandana Wickremaratne, all those directly linked to the attacks have been neutralised.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia

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