Global terrorism has entered Sri Lanka, PM Wickremesinghe tells WION

As Sri Lanka reels in the aftermath of the suicide attacks, PM Wickremesinghe in a candid interview to WION conceded that the country needs to "face up to terrorism" and ensure "it doesn't drag on for too long" while adding that intelligence related to the attack didn't "flow up" which could have helped to prevent the blasts.

"There have been some shortcomings in the security establishment. Let's see who is responsible," the Lankan prime minister said while informing that those responsible for the lapses will be held accountable.

"We could have prevented all the blasts or many other blasts, that is where our fault lies," he said.

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The April 21st Easter bombings shook the island nation as it reverberated around the world. Authorities have said at least 253 people have died so far, the toll could still rise further as several are still critically injured.

The Lankan prime minister said there were "shortcomings" in the security establishment. President Sirisena tried has tried to shake up the security agencies in the past week by asking police chief Pujith Jayasundara and defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando to quit to pave the way for a probe and put a new structure in place.

PM Ranil Wickremesinghe felt let down by the fact that no one acted on the impending threat and he too was left out of the loop.

"The problem is there are dead bodies, people have died, the economy has suffered and there was information which wasn't acted upon, that's really the issue," he said.

After the blasts there have been several angles linking the attacks, some said there was a "political conspiracy". The prime minister said if there was any evidence of a conspiracy, it will be probed.

The prime minister said the political backlash was expected after the magnitude of the attack comparing it to the LTTE era in the 80s.

"We are entering a new phase in global terrorism as against homegrown terrorism which was on domestic political issues," he said, adding, "this is internal jihad, can we tackle it? That will be answered in the coming few weeks."

The prime minister said the confidence of the people can now only be restored on the basis of how the government tackles various issues including the economy and bringing back normalcy in the country scarred by the attack.