Sri Lanka government declares curfew, shuts down access to major social media sites

The Sri Lankan government declared a curfew with immediate effect, junior defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene said on Sunday, following eight explosions that killed nearly 140 people, and mostly targeted churches and hotels.

and News DeskReuters
Published : 21 April 2019, 10:28 AM
Updated : 21 April 2019, 11:02 AM

"A curfew will be imposed until things settle down," he told reporters in Colombo.

Government officials also said major social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, have been blocked inside the country to prevent misinformation and rumours.

But the BBC says that it has received sporadic social media messages from people in Sri Lanka. The extent to which the messaging services are affected is unclear so far.