The Easter Sunday attacks on three churches in Sri Lanka mark a devastating escalation of violence against a Christian minority that has been targeted in…
The Easter Sunday attacks on three churches in Sri Lanka mark a devastating escalation of violence against a Christian minority that has been targeted in the past, but never to such brutal and deadly effect.
Ethnic and religious violence has plagued Sri Lanka for decades, with a 37-year conflict with Tamil rebels that claimed 100,000 lives and an upswing in recent years in clashes between the Buddhist majority and Muslims.
While there have been attacks on Christians, their community had been left relatively unscathed, with anti-Muslim riots — whipped up in part by hardline, right-wing Buddhists grabbing the headlines.
But that changed with Sunday’s bombings on St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St Sebastian’s in Negombo to the north of the capital and the church in the eastern city of Batticaloa.
All three were left in ruins, bodies slumped over pews or lined up in aisles, torn bibles strewn over the floor.
Along with attacks on four hotels, more than 200 people were killed.
– Religious showdown –
The US State Department’s most recent report on religious freedom said the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka had documented “97 incidents” of attacks on churches, intimidation and violence in 2017.
