Following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, the South Asian Students Association at the University of Chicago held a vigil on the main quad on Thursday. Other cosponsors of the event included the UChicago PanAsia Solidarity Coalition, the Muslim Students Association, and Spiritual Life UChicago.
The attacks occurred in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, and in Batticaloa, a city in eastern Sri Lanka. Suicide bombers targeted hotels and churches, claiming at least 253 lives and injuring hundreds more. Sri Lankan authorities accused a previously little-known extremist group called the National Thowheed Jamath of carrying out the attacks. On Tuesday, ISIS claimed responsibility.
Violence of this sort has not been seen in Sri Lanka since the Sri Lankan Civil War ended in 2009.
