Sri Lankan Law Enforcement Failed to Address Warnings of Radical Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches

• 04.23.2019, 13:36
•  Asia,  World

BBC

Authorities in Sri Lanka reportedly received warnings of possible domestic Islamic terror attacks 2 weeks before the Easter church bombings occurred Sunday, killing nearly 300 Christians.

Sri Lankan Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne says that international intelligence agencies warned Sri Lankan authorities several times of possible attacks in early April, the Guardian reported.

“Fourteen days before these incidents occurred, we had been informed about these incidents,” Senaratne told a press conference in Colombo on Monday.

He claimed that the chief of national intelligence in the country wrote to the police chief April 9 with a warning about a potential attack that included the name of the terror group responsible — National Thowfeek Jaamath.

On April 11, police reportedly contacted the heads of security of the judiciary and diplomatic security division, alerting them to the warnings they received. There is allegedly no evidence that any preventative action was taken after.