The suicide assassination of a top Sri Lankan minister should be a "wake-up call" to the international community to combat terrorism, the foreign minister said.
Sri Lanka's highways minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, 55, was killed together with 13 others in a blast at the start of a marathon outside the capital Colombo.
On Sunday morning (6 April), scores of runners and onlookers gathered at the starting line of the marathon in Weliweriya, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital Colombo, as part of the national celebrations of the upcoming Sinhalese New Year.
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, the Minister of Highways, approached the starting line with a flag he planned to wave to start the race when the bomb exploded.
The Minister died on the spot, along with 13 others including former Olympic marathoner K.A. Karunaratne and national athletics coach Lakshman de Alwis, in total more than 90 were wounded.
The Minister died on the spot, along with 13 others including former Olympic marathoner K.A. Karunaratne and national athletics coach Lakshman de Alwis, in total more than 90 were wounded.
Karunaratne competed in the 1992 Olympic marathon and the 1993 World Championships. He won gold in the marathon and 10,000 meters at the 1991 South Asian Games, defending his marathon title in 1993.
We utterly condemn this outrage by LTTE. To target those innocently involved in a sporting event is reprehensible.
No comments:
Post a Comment