Sri Lanka’s president vowed to “eradicate terrorism” and press ahead with presidential polls scheduled for later this year, in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings last week.
“Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism,” Maithripala Sirisena told Reuters.
Sirisena went on to acknowledge that “25-30 suspects” from the bombings remain at large, calling them “active members”. “We have already identified all active members of the group and it’s a case of now arresting them,” he added.
The Sri Lankan president also denied receiving prior information about the attacks, despite several reports of intelligence being passed to Sri Lankan authorities.
“Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas,” he added.
See more from Reuters here.
Sirisena’s comments echo his remarks earlier this week, where he pledged to “eliminate terrorism from the country”. His official media outlet quoted him as saying “that as a nation all must unite under a one flag”.
See more of his comments here.