Security beefed up near all churches

By Norman Palihawadana

Thousands of policemen and security forces personnel would be deployed today near all churches to ensure that worshippers can engage in religious activities without fear, Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said yesterday.

He said that a large contingent of policemen and soldiers had been deployed last night at the St.

Sebastian Church, Kandana where Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith conducted the midnight mass.

Another senior policeman said there was anxiety among many Christians about gathering in places of worship after the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, which killed around 300 people and injured over 500 others.

The Catholic Church said that the Christmas mass would be held in churches outside the areas that had been declared isolated due to the pandemic. Devotees will be taken inside churches in batches and the churches will be sanitised after each service.