Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, was full of hope and prayers when it was devastated in a split second by the most unexpected bombing.
Three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial metropolis, Colombo, were attacked in a series of coordinated terrorist suicide explosions on Easter Sunday, 21st of April 2019. Later that day, there were minor explosions in a Dematagoda housing complex and in a Dehiwala guest house.
269 people were murdered, including of about 45 foreign nationals, three police officers, and eight bombers, and at least 500 were injured. The church bombs occurred during Easter services in Negombo, Batticaloa, and Colombo, while the hotels targeted included the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury, and Tropical Inn.
Following those first explosions, two more were reported while authorities sought for the culprits. One was in the southern Colombo area of Dehiwala, while the other was near the Dematagoda district of Colombo.
Later that day, on Easter Sunday 2019, an improvised explosive device was discovered and defused near the country’s main airport in Colombo.
Another explosion happened the next day on a street near a church in Colombo. Police were attempting to disarm explosive devices in the terrorists’ car when it blew up.
The terrorists had planned an explosion at a fourth hotel, according to police sources, but it did not go off. But the day will not be forgotten, especially by those whose lives have been irreversibly impacted as a result of the catastrophe. Still, an appropriate response is not offered in order to achieve justice for the individuals whose beautiful existence was shattered and was taken away from them.
