CYPRUS: Nicosia monitoring situation following deadly bomb attacks in Sri Lanka

Cyprus is monitoring the situation after the deadly Easter bomb attacks in Sri Lanka and is in contact with the country’s competent authorities.

Authorities lifted a curfew in Sri Lanka on Monday, a day after a string of bombings at churches and luxury hotels across the Indian Ocean island killed 290 people and wounded about 500, but there were warnings more attacks could come.

There was no claim of responsibility for the Easter Sunday attacks on two churches and four hotels in and around Colombo, the capital of predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka, and a third church on the South Asian nation’s northeast coast.

Four of the bombs went off at roughly the same time, at 8.45 a.m., with the other two coming within 20 minutes.

Sri Lankans accounted for the bulk of the dead and wounded although government officials said 32 foreigners were killed, including British, U.S., Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals.

The Cyprus Foreign Ministry also announced that based on the information so far, there are no Cypriots thought to be among the victims, but the island is also home to a large Sri Lankan community.

The official assistance line set up by the Sri Lankan government is 0049766230974.

 Cypriots who are or are planning to visit Sri Lanka are advised to watch international and local media and to follow closely the local authorities’ directives, said the ministry.

For consular support, the interested parties can contact the Republic of Cyprus’ High Commission in New Delhi Tel: + 91 11 435 86 295, + 91 11 435 86 259.

Cypriots who plan to travel or reside in Sri Lanka are advised to contact the Cypriot embassy in New Delhi or visit the website www.oikade.gov.cy to register in the voluntary register system for Cypriot civilians.

Any European citizens whose country does not have diplomatic representation in Sri Lanka can apply to any EU member-state diplomatic mission in Sri Lanka.

A full list of EU member-states diplomatic missions is located in the following: eeas.europa.eu/delegations/sri-lanka/1829/travel-eu-sri-lanka_en