Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a visit to Sri Lanka made an unscheduled stop at one of the churches ravaged in the recent Easter Sunday terror attacks by Islamic State.
PM Modi placed flowers in the memory of the victims of terror at the Church.
“I am confident that Sri Lanka will rise again. Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka,” PM Modi said after the visit to St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade.
PM Modi placed flowers in the memory of the victims of terror at the Church. India has offered full support to Sri Lanka in combating terror. PM Modi is the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the terror strikes. More than 250 people had died in the attacks on Easter Sunday.
A local Jihadi group National Thouheed Jama’ath, an affiliate of Islamic State, had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
After his arrival, PM Modi was given a grand welcome at the President’s secretariat. President Mathipala Sirisena was seen holding an umbrella providing cover to himself and Prime Minister Modi from rain. Later the two had a working lunch.
During the day-long visit, PM Modi is also expected to meet Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa. A delegation of the main Tamil party – The Tamil National Alliance – is also expected to meet him.
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