Armenian PM, President send condolences to Sri Lanka

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Armen Sarkissian have sent letters of condolences to President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka over the terrorist attacks carried out during Easter celebrations, which left hundreds of innocent people dead or injured.

Pashinyan said Armenia strongly condemns the appalling crimes and reaffirms its commitment to counter the growing tide of evil with the international community.

In a separate message, Sarkissian expressed his deepest condolences to the President and the families of the victims, wishing them strength and patience.

The Sri Lankan police have arrested 24 people in connection with a series of devastating suicide bombings at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday that left nearly 300 people dead and more than 500 injured.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but a police officer alerted security officials in an advisory 10 days ago about a threat to churches from a radical Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath. The authorities, however, failed to act on the information, government officials said.

A nationwide curfew was lifted on Monday morning, but major social media and messaging services, including Facebook and WhatsApp, remained blocked by the government to curb the spread of misinformation.