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At least 45 children killed in Sri Lanka attacks: UN
GENEVA, April 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least 45 children were among the
more than 320 people killed in suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka, the United
Nations said Tuesday.
“The total now is 45 children who died,” UNICEF spokesman Christophe
Boulierac told reporters in Geneva.
He added that the toll from the Sunday attacks could rise as many other
minors “are wounded and are now fighting for their lives in intensive care
units across the country.”
UNICEF has confirmed that 27 children were killed and another 10 injured in
the attack at St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo.
In the eastern city of Batticaloa, 13 children were killed, including an
18-month-old baby, UNICEF said.
Those 40 children who lost their lives in the two cities were Sri Lankan
nationals, while UNICEF has confirmed that another five children of foreign
nationality were also killed.
Boulierac was not immediately able to provide details on where the non-Sri
Lankan children died.
Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who was on vacation in Sri Lanka
with his family at the weekend, lost three of his four children in the
attack, a spokesman for his clothing retail group Bestseller has said.
Twenty children have also been admitted to hospital following the attack in
Colombo, including four who were in intensive care.
Sri Lanka has named the local Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath,
as the chief suspect, for the violence that has sparked local and
international outrage.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1719 hrs