A gunman fired at a church in Sri Lanka, police said on Saturday, with the country on high alert six years since Easter Sunday bombings killed hundreds.

The gunman opened fire Friday at a church in Manampitiya, 160 kilometres northeast of the capital, Colombo, a police statement said.

The shooting damaged windows, and no one was hurt, while a suspect has been arrested, police said.

“Initial investigations suggest that the suspect had targeted the church due to a personal enmity with the pastor,” the statement said.

Armed police and troops have been deployed to nearly all churches nationwide during Easter celebrations, with security heightened following the 2019 attack.

Suicide bombers in 2019 killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, at three churches and three hotels.

More than 500 people were wounded in the attack, which officials blamed on a home-grown Islamist group.

The Catholic Church will commemorate the victims on Monday by declaring them “Heroes of the Faith”.

Sri Lanka’s Catholic minority has maintained a campaign for justice since the bombings, saying that prior investigations failed to answer outstanding questions.

The Church has accused successive governments of protecting those behind the attack, and several high-level investigations have identified links between military intelligence units and the bombers.

Opinion

Editorial

Missing in action
17 Mar, 2026

Missing in action

NOT exactly known for playing a proactive role in protecting the interests of Muslim nations and populations...
Risk to stability
Updated 17 Mar, 2026

Risk to stability

THE risks to Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the US-Israel war on Iran cannot be dismissed. Yet the...
Enrolment push
17 Mar, 2026

Enrolment push

THE federal government has embarked upon the welcome initiative to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad...
Holding the line
16 Mar, 2026

Holding the line

PAKISTAN’S long battle against polio has recently produced encouraging signs. Data from the national eradication...
Power self-reliance
Updated 16 Mar, 2026

Power self-reliance

PAKISTAN’S transition to domestic sources of electricity is a welcome development for a country that has long been...
Looking for safety
16 Mar, 2026

Looking for safety

AS the Middle East conflict enters its third week, the war’s most enduring victims are not those who wage it....