COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 24 (NNN-NEWS VISION) – Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday vowed a major shake-up of the military’s top brass in the wake of the deadly Easter suicide bombings, after the government admitted warnings were ignored.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also defence and law and order minister, said he will carry out a complete reorganisation of the security forces and the police under his control.
“I hope to make major changes in the leadership of the security forces in the next 24 hours,” the president said in a nationwide address.
“The restructuring of the security forces and the police will be completed within a week.”
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has acknowledged that police had intelligence about the suicide strikes against churches and luxury hotels before the bombings on Sunday, but failed to act on it.
An investigation was underway to establish why police did not share intelligence with Wickremesinghe’s office, he told reporters on Tuesday, shortly before the president’s address.
As of Wednesday, the death toll of the multiple explosions which ripped through Sri Lanka on Sunday had risen to 359 including 34 foreign nationals, according to police.
Police Spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara said that 18 more suspects had been taken into custody in the early hours of Wednesday in continuous security operations launched by the police to arrest all those involved in Sunday’s explosions.
Gunasekara said four walkie-talkies and a motorcycle were also recovered by the police from a house in Warakapola, around 56 km away from capital Colombo.
So far in total, 58 suspects have been taken into custody since Sunday
Meanwhile, the Daesh militant group has claimed responsibility for the bombings at three Catholic churches and three high-end hotels, and released a photo of the men it said were responsible.
— NNN-NEWS VISION