Church wants more vigorous crackdown on Sri Lankan militants

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka said Monday that the government should crack down on Islamic extremists with more vigor "as if on war footing" in the aftermath of the Easter bombings.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, said the church may not be able to stop people from taking the law into their own hands unless the government conducts a more thorough investigation and does more to prevent further attacks.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Easter attacks, which killed more than 250 people, and investigators are looking into the extent of the extremist group's direct involvement with the local radicalized Muslims who carried out the suicide bombings.

The cardinal said he is not satisfied with how the government has conducted its investigations so far.

"All the security forces should be involved and function as if on war footing," Ranjith told reporters.

"I want to state that we may not be able to keep people under control in the absence of a stronger security program," he said. "We can't forever give them false promises and keep them calm."
He urged the government "to implement a proper program in order that the people don't take the law into their own hands."