Sri Lankan President asks police chief, defence minister to quit

Wednesday, 24 April 2019 09:11

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has asked the police chief and defence secretary to step down following the Easter Sunday attacks.

This comes as new reports showed that Sri Lankan intelligence officials were tipped off about the attacks hours before it actually happened by their Indian counterparts.

Investigators have identified eight of the nine suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday bombings that left 359 people dead and 500 more injured. One of the attackers was a woman, deputy defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene told reporters on Wednesday, with 60 arrests made so far.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sri Lankan police carried out a controlled explosion of a suspicious motorscooter parked near the Savoy cinema in the capital Colombo.

Meanwhile, Washington's ambassador to Colombo said the US believes there is ongoing terrorism plotting in the country.

More from International News

UN warns funding cuts threaten vital aid

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have sounded the alarm over severe funding shortfalls that are hindering life-saving humanitarian aid in countries including Nigeria, Burundi, and Colombia.
Multiple dead in Vancouver after vehicle plows into street festival

A number of people were killed and multiple others were injured in Vancouver after a driver drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city, police said on Saturday.
Rome and the world bid farewell to Pope Francis

Presidents, royalty and simple mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal appealed for the pontiff's legacy of caring for migrants, the downtrodden and the environment to be kept alive.
Trump, Zelenskyy meet in Vatican basilica to seek Ukraine peace

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine.