UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Sri Lanka’s attacks, and the rising death toll

“I received the news on Sunday of the attacks in Sri Lanka with deep shock and sorrow. Today’s reports of a further rise in the number of deaths show that the horror is still unfolding.

At this time of national mourning, all of us at UNHCR stand by the government and people of Sri Lanka, a country that has offered protection to refugees of diverse religions and nationalities, at the same time as it continues to recover from its own experience of division and conflict.

I am encouraged by the outpouring of solidarity and calls for unity from all corners of the world. Violent extremism must not divide us.”