President Maithripala Sirisena said he did not get important intelligence pointing to planned attacks, and that there would be a “total reorganization” of the security apparatus.
The president of Sri Lanka blamed security officials for not warning him of terrorist threats and said the country’s prosecution of military intelligence officers after its long civil war left it vulnerable to attack, as he sought Friday to deflect blame from the Easter Sunday bombings.
“Action will be taken against all officials who neglected their duties,” President Maithripala Sirisena said, according to local news outlets. He added that a “total reorganization” of the security apparatus would take place in the days to come.
Mr. Sirisena, who is also defense minister, has come under intense criticism after the suicide bombings. Sri Lankan security officials had written a memo 10 days before the attacks describing the threat of bombings, with names, addresses and phone numbers of those believed involved, but it was not shared widely.
Sri Lanka’s government has been consumed by months of infighting, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a rival of the president, complained that he was excluded from security meetings.
