A prayer vigil is planned in Surrey tonight to honour those killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Monday (April 22) at Holland Park, located at 13428 Old Yale Rd.
“Come and stand with us as we remember the lives lost and affected in the bombings of Easter 2019,” organizers say in a Facebook event post.
An estimated 290 people were killed and another 500 more were wounded in a total of nine bombings in Sri Lanka on Sunday (April 21).
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The Easter Sunday bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war in the South Asian island nation ended a decade ago.
The explosions collapsed ceilings and blew out windows, and the dead included worshippers and hotel guests. People were seen carrying the wounded out of blood-spattered pews.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he feared the violence could trigger instability in Sri Lanka, a country of about 21 million people, and he vowed the government will “vest all necessary powers with the defence forces” to take action against those responsible for the massacre, “regardless of their stature.”
Pope Francis has asked everyone to join him in condemning the “inhuman” attacks.
-With files from Associated Press
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