Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Spokesman and Minister of Media, Nalinda Jayatissa, has stated that intelligence agencies are monitoring an “extremist group” reportedly operating from Kalmunai in the Eastern Province.
“At the moment, we have information that there is a group operating based in the Eastern Province,” Jayatissa said. “The intelligence and security agencies are in the process of unearthing more information regarding that. At the moment, we can say the security agencies are vigilant about their activities.”
His comments follow a Sunday Times report quoting Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala, who claimed that intelligence agencies, including the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and military intelligence, have been monitoring an extremist group that is reportedly engaged in propagating radical ideologies.
“Surveillance of certain places of religious activity has found that children, in particular, were being indoctrinated in extremist ideologies,” Wijepala was quoted as saying. “These extremist ideologies were contrary to the teachings of Islam.”
He specifically identified Kalmunai as a hotspot for such activities and stated that security agencies had ramped up surveillance. “Most of such activity has been reported from the Kalmunai area, and SIS and military intelligence units have both increased monitoring of these activities,” he added.
Despite these claims, residents of Kalmunai have told Economy Next that a group has been active in the area for five years, but no arrests have been made in connection with terrorism-related activities. Instead, reports suggest that the group in question has preached against “school education, doing professional jobs, and lavish spending for weddings.”
The mention of Islamist linked extremist activity evokes memories of Sri Lanka’s security failures ahead of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed over 250 people in a series of coordinated suicide attacks targeting churches and luxury hotels.
Security agencies had previously faced severe criticism for failing to prevent the attacks despite repeated warnings, with reports suggesting authorities allowed them to take place.
Minister Jayatissa also noted that Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been actively discussing pressing national security concerns with senior officials, particularly the rise in organised criminal gangs and their potential political connections. He pointed out that both the Eastern and Northern provinces have been flagged by intelligence services as areas of interest, hinting at further security operations.
