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Hundreds dead in Sri Lanka following bombings

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Bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka killed more than 200 and injured hundreds more, with nine explosions rocking churches, luxury hotels and other sites in a country not long removed from a bloody civil war.
Bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka killed more than 200 and injured hundreds more, with nine explosions rocking churches, luxury hotels and other sites in a country not long removed from a bloody civil war.
Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena described the blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists. Police said 13 suspects were arrested, though there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Wijewardena said most of the bombings were believed to have been suicide attacks.
“It’s awful. It’s truly awful,” said Jude Fernando, a native of Sri Lanka who now teaches international relations at Clark University in Worcester.
He told the Herald that there has been increasing violence against the various minority populations, such as the Christians, and Sri Lankan leaders need to make sure the cycle of violence doesn’t continue to spiral.
“I’m really concerned about this anti-religious, anti-minority violence,” Fernando said.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said at least 207 people were killed and 450 wounded.
The explosions — most of them in or around Colombo, the capital — collapsed ceilings and blew out windows, killing worshippers and hotel guests in one scene after another of smoke, soot, blood, broken glass, screams and wailing alarms.

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