Vigil at St Mary's Cathedral, Jaffna

Organisations and public bodies across the North-East held vigils for the victims of the Easter Sunday blasts which killed over 300 people in Batticaloa and Colombo.

British Tamils held a Hindu vigil at Ealing Amman temple in London earlier today, in tribute to the victims of the bomb blasts in Batticaloa and Sri Lanka.

MP Virendra Sharma, the representative of Southall and Ealing, spoke at the temple commemorating the lives lost.

The death toll was last confirmed at 290 although many remained missing or unaccounted for.

View the MP's statement here.

<p>The UK Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command has displaced a small team of specialists to aid Sri Lanka, including&nbsp;family liaison officers to assist the families of British victims and the repatriation of deceased British nationals.</p> <p>Acting Commander Alexis Boon, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command requested any footage or images taken before, during or after the bombing for examination.</p> <p>The Met Police have also asked witnesses of the attack to contact police on a confidential basis.</p> <p>In a statement to MPs, the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:</p> <blockquote><p>

<p>Human Rights Watch has called upon to follow “due process” ensuring that arrests are made according to international standards and that restrictions on the freedom of speech are done “for a legitimate reason” and are “proportionate”.</p> <p>This follows the Easter Sunday bombings in which close to 300 were killed and approximate 500 injured.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Sri Lankan state has responded by announcing a state of emergency, which would come into force on April 23 allowing security officials to make arrests without charge, and blocking several social media platforms.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Tamil Civil Society Forum has condemned, 'with a heavy heart,’ the Easter Sunday bombings.</p> <p>In a statement released on Tuesday, the forum said ,</p> <p>“We fear that these attacks which occur 10 years after the end of the civil war, have the potential of further complicating and sharpening the deep divisions in this country”</p> <p>Noting concern at the impact the bombings could have on already strained ethnic harmony, the statement added,</p>

<p>The Islamic State news agency AMAQ claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday suicide attacks that claimed the lives of over 250 people.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a statement released by the group’s AMAQ news agency, the Islamic state identified the suicide bombers by their noms de guerre, specifying which of them had gone to three of the attacked churches, reports the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/world/asia/sri-lanka-bombing.html">New York Times.</a></p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa slammed the current government’s handling of national security, accusing it of weakening security measures after he lost power in 2015.</p> <p>Blaming the current government for allowing ‘terrorism to raise its head again,’ Rajapaksa went on to criticise attempts to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a legislation that has been criticised by the UN and several rights group.</p> <p>Speaking in parliament on Tuesday he said,<br> “If the government had repealed the PTA as requested by the intentional community, the situation may have been worse.”</p>

Staff and students at the University of Jaffna held a vigil in tribute to the victims of the bomb blasts in Batticaloa and Colombo.

Attended by lecturers, students and campus staff, the vigil took place at the campus on Monday morning.

On the day of the attacks, Jaffna University students had organised an emergency blood donation drive as reports of shortages of blood emerged, especially in Batticaloa.

Business owners in Mannar town shut their stores and raised black flags in an act of mourning for the victims of the Easter Sunday bombs which killed nearly 300 people in Colombo and Batticaloa.

Shops in Mannar bazaar shut on Monday morning, while the area's association leaders put up black flags and tribute posters in public areas of the town.

STF troops checking luggage at Jaffna bus stand

A man was arrested in Jaffna town while curfew was imposed on Sunday evening, and released after inquiry on Monday.

Although locals speculated that the man had been arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, police said he had been arrested as he had been at Jaffna central bus station with a suitcase, after curfew had been imposed, which had aroused suspicion.