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.

<p>US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has blamed the “radical Islamic terror” for the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.</p> <p>The attacks have claimed the lives of close to 300 people and Pompeo has claimed that several Americans were amongst the casualties. At least 35 foreigners were among the fatalities.</p> <p>Speaking at a news conference Pompeo said:</p> <blockquote><p> “What was supposed to be a joyful Easter Sunday was marred by a horrific wave of Islamic radical terror and bloodshed,”</p> <p>“We urge that any evildoers be brought to justice expeditiously and America is prepared to support that,”&nbsp;</p>

<p>For the second day in a row, Pope Francis condemned the attacks in Sri Lanka describing them as “terrorist acts, inhuman acts, never justifiable”.</p> <p>The death toll from the attacks is close to 300 with at least 35 foreigners among the fatalities. Sri Lankan police said 24 people had been arrested in connection with the blasts.</p> <p>A state of emergency is to be declared with 'anti-terrorism clauses' effective from midnight Monday.</p> <p>Speaking to tens of thousands in St Peter’s Square he described a close link to the Catholics in Sri Lanka and that he was praying for them.</p> <p>In his statement he said:</p>

US President Donald Trump called Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today, as reports arrive that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting with investigations.

Trump “pledged United States support to Sri Lanka in bringing the perpetrators to justice, and the leaders re-affirmed their commitment to the fight against global terrorism,” according to a White House statement.

The statement added that “the near simultaneous attacks on Sri Lankan churches and hotels constitute one of the deadliest terrorist events since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States”.

<p>INTERPOL has deployed a response team to Sri Lanka to assist with investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings which left nearly 300 dead and 500 injured.</p> <p>The Incident Response Team (IRT) has been deployed at the request of the Sri Lankan government who will be aided with specialists “in crime scene examination, explosives, counter-terrorism, disaster victim identification and analysis”.</p> <p>INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organisation,&nbsp;further reports that if required “additional expertise in digital forensics, biometrics, as well as photo and video analysis” will be sent to support investigations in Sri Lanka.</p>

Several Sri Lankan government ministers have claimed that they received prior warnings that an attack on the island was imminent, after bombs killed at least 290 people in Easter Sunday.

“Fourteen days before these incidents occurred, we had been informed about these incidents,” cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne told a press conference in Colombo on Monday.

“On 9 April, the chief of national intelligence wrote a letter and in this letter many of the names of the members of the terrorist organisation were written down… Unfortunately, despite all these revelations by the intelligence units we could not avert these attacks.”

<p>Acting on the direction of the Commander of the Army, the Directorate of Operations has mobilised additional troops to be deployed for security precautions in large vulnerable areas in response to the Easter Sunday attacks.</p> <p>Military Spokesman, Brigadier Sumith Atapattu, told a media briefing at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that at least “a thousand Army members have been deployed in Colombo soon after the blasts”.</p>

<p>The Sri Lankan government will declare a state of emergency from midnight on Monday, in the wake of a series of bombings that killed at least 290 people on Easter Sunday.</p> <p>In an official announcement, Sri Lanka’s Presidential Media Division stated that &nbsp;Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena&nbsp;“anti-terrorism clauses” will be effective from midnight.</p> <p>“This step has been taken to empower police to take effective measures to safeguard security of the people and the country,” it added.</p>