COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankans of different faiths were being urged to pray privately amid fears of further attacks Friday, as the country’s prime minister that security forces are still working to pick up terrorist “sleepers.”
The call to avoid places of worship comes as Sri Lanka enters the first weekend of religious services following Sunday’s mass bombings.
Ahead of Friday’s dawn prayers, Muslims were asked not to gather publicly for the congregational Friday prayer service — known as the Jum’ah prayer — according to a statement labeled “very urgent” on Thursday by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Postal Services & Muslim Religious Affairs Mohamed Hashim Abdul Haleem.
The Minister’s statement called for prayers to end the actions of the “inhuman terrorist murderers,” and offers condolences to the victims targeted in churches and luxury hotels, saying that the Muslim community “stand(s) with Christian brothers and sisters during their times of grief.”
However, some mosques defied the call, opening for the midday prayers.
Driving through Colombo, a CNN reporter observed that shops that would normally be open at this time had been shuttered, and noted that security warnings broadcast on television and radio had spread fear.
According to a revised death toll, 253 people, including many worshipers attending Easter Mass services, died in the coordinated attacks.
Catholic services across Colombo have also been suspended — until April 29 — because of security concerns, according to Fr. Edmond Tillekeratne, media director of the Archdiocese.
The decision, which will see Catholic churches in the capital shuttered for services this Sunday, was made at the direction of Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.
Both Christianity and Islam are minority religions in Sri Lanka, each accounting for less than ten percent of the total population. According to census data, the vast majority of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist.
Concerns over further attacks have moved several counties to warn their citizens to avoid the Indian Ocean nation. Israel and the UK were the latest countries to issue travel advice, with Israel citing a “high concrete threat.”
Its Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a travel warning for Sri Lanka on Thursday, raising the threat level to its second-highest, and advising travelers already in-country to leave. The warning came after consultations with security and foreign ministry officials, according to a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Bureau.
The UK’s Thursday announcement advised against “all but essential travel to Sri Lanka, due to the current evolving security situation.”
They join the US, China, South Korea and Australia in issuing advisories amid ongoing threats to travellers’ wellbeing in Sri Lanka.
(PHOTO: WISH-TV)
