Sri Lanka mass cancelled over specific attack threat
Police name suicide bombers; death toll rises to 257
All parties scrapped May Day rallies amid fears of bomb blasts
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church has cancelled plans to resume Sunday services following a "specific threat" of fresh bomb attacks against at least two places of worship, a spokesman said.
The archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, had wanted to resume regular mass from May 5, but the new information made them put it off indefinitely, his spokesman told AFP yesterday.
"On the advice of the security forces, we have decided not to have Sunday masses in any of the churches," the spokesman said. "There is a specific threat against two locations."
The Church had planned to resume Sunday public services for the first time since the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 257 people.
Last Sunday the cardinal conducted a private memorial mass that was broadcast live on television after cancelling all public services.
On Tuesday, he said he was closely monitoring investigations into the April 21 suicide attacks against three churches and three luxury hotels and wanted to be sure of the security situation before returning to regular services.
The services were cancelled a day after all political parties scrapped May Day rallies amid fears of bomb blasts.
The death toll from the Easter suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka has risen to 257, authorities said yesterday.
Police on Wednesday named nine people who staged Easter Sunday suicide bombings and said the attackers' assets will be confiscated in line with anti-terror laws.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera confirmed that two of the luxury hotels were bombed by two brothers from a wealthy Colombo family involved in spice exports.