Church bells tolled mournfully at Colombo's devastated St Anthony's Shrine on Sunday, as scores of Christians wept but defiantly prayed and lit candles for the victims of the horrific Easter bombings.
The bells rang out at 8:45 am, the moment a jihadist suicide bomber detonated his device inside the 18th-century church on Easter Sunday, one of six attacks on churches and luxury hotels that left 253 dead.
The bomber destroyed part of the shrine's roof and scarred its walls with shrapnel, damaging the clock tower whose hands were still stuck at 8:45 — a grim reminder of the destruction.
The island's Roman Catholic leadership has suspended all public services, fearing new attacks.
But on Sunday morning, as Sri Lanka's Christians sought to come to terms with the tragedy, scores of Catholics held a heavily guarded vigil outside the Colombo church.
From teenagers to elderly men and women, to parents carrying their children in their arms, the crowd gradually swelled, as worshippers came out on to the streets to mourn.
As they prayed and wept — some in silence, others loudly sobbing — some fingered rosary beads, while others sang hymns and lit candles, placing them inside metal boxes as a makeshift memorial to the victims.
Keuslaus Stanislaus said he had travelled to St Anthony's because he "wanted to participate in a mass in some way".
"We wanted to participate because we haven't been able to worship all week," the 30-year-old told AFP.
– 'Insult to humanity' –
For those living near the church, the bombing felt like a personal onslaught.
"I come to this church every Sunday. It feels like my second home. It's like people blasted my own home," said Dharshika Fernando, struggling to hold back tears.
"We don't know when the church will open again but we want it back soon," the 19-year-old told AFP.
About an hour after the vigil began, worshippers fell silent as the parish priest walked out to the entrance of the church and held up a statue of St Anthony. The crowd raised their hands in prayer before resuming their solemn hymns.
President Maithripala Sirisena also lit candles at the church site, where a major clean-up operation is now under way.
Navy forces have been deployed to repair the damaged building, remove bloodstains from its ceiling and wash away the overpowering stench of death that still lingered a week after the bombing.
Vice Admiral Piyal de Silva, commander of the Sri Lankan Navy, told reporters he hoped to quickly finish the reconstruction.
"I hope within one month or so we will do it," he said.
At the tightly-guarded Roman Catholic Archbishop's residence in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith condemned the attacks in a private mass that was broadcast live on the country's television channels.
With President Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse in the small congregation, the cardinal appealed for peace and unity in the multi-ethnic island of 21 million people.
"In the name of God we cannot destroy any person," he said.
"What happened last Sunday is a great tragedy, an insult to humanity," the cardinal said, urging followers to show kindness to others as a sign of respect for all the victims.
The authorities have blamed the attacks on a local Islamist group affiliated to the Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility.
15 killed in raid on Islamist hideout: Sri Lanka police
Colombo (AFP) April 27, 2019 –
Suicide bombers cornered by security forces in a hideout in eastern Sri Lanka blew themselves up in a raid which left 15 people dead, including six children, police said Saturday.
A civilian was also killed in crossfire during the night-time raid near the predominantly Muslim town of Kalmunai, with hundreds of families later fleeing their homes.
Kalmmunai is in the home province of the jihadist suspected of organising the Easter Sunday attacks that left 253 dead.
Three men set off explosives killing three women and six children inside the house on Friday night, police said.
"Three other men, also believed to be suicide bombers, were found dead outside the house," said a police statement. Police officials said all three were shot by security forces.
Gunmen opened fire on troops when they attempted to storm the house under cover of darkness, military spokesman Sumith Atapattu said.
An ensuing gun battle lasted more than an hour, a military official said, adding that the bodies were recovered following a search operation.
Charred bodies and at least one gunman cradling an assault rifle, were seen in video footage shown on state television.
Explosives, a generator, a drone and a large quantity of batteries were seen inside the house.
Some 600 Muslims fled a neighbouring settlement built to house displaced survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami because of the fighting and took shelter in a school, residents said.
The civilian was hit in crossfire and died while a wounded woman and child were taken to hospital.
The operation followed a tip off that extremists linked to the Easter suicide bombings were holed up in Kalmunai, 370 kilometres (230 miles) east of the capital.
Zahran Hashim, founder of the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) group blamed for the attacks and one of the Colombo suicide bombers, comes from the same province.
The clashes came hours after security forces raided a nearby location where they believe Hashim and other suicide bombers recorded a pledge of allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before carrying out the bombings of three churches and three hotels.
Police said they found an IS flag and uniforms similar to those worn by the eight fighters in a video used by IS to claim responsibility for Sunday's attacks.
"We have found the backdrop the group used to record their video," the police said in an earlier statement.
The Islamic State group released their video two days after the bombings.
Police showed the clothing, the flag, some 150 sticks of dynamite and about 100,000 ball bearings seized from the house on national television.
Security forces armed with emergency powers have stepped up search operations for Islamic extremists since the bombings.
