"The state of emergency declared on March 06, 2018 according to the instructions given by President Maithripala Sirisena has been lifted," a statement on the presidential website said.

Sirisena signed the notification following his state visit to Japan.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," Sirisena wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

READ MORE: Almost 30 People Injured in Bus Explosion in Central Sri Lanka — Reports

The previous state of emergency, which had been in place in the country for nearly three decades, was lifted in 2011 following the end of the civil war and the government's victory over Tamil Tiger rebels. Sri Lanka is a multireligious country, with Buddhists comprising about 70 percent of the population, Hindus and Muslims — 13 and 10 percent respectively. </s> COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has ended a four-month state of emergency declared after Easter suicide bombings by Islamist extremists that killed 258 people, officials said on Friday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on the 22nd of each month since the April 21 attacks on three hotels and three churches. However, his office confirmed that Sirisena had not extended it for another term and thereby allowed the emergency to end on Thursday.

"The president did not issue a fresh proclamation extending the emergency by a further period," an official source said. The official government printer also confirmed that there was no notification reimposing the state of emergency, which gives sweeping powers to police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods.

The government used the emergency as it tightened security across the country and hunted members of a local jihadist group which was held responsible for the attacks and which claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Police have said that all those directly responsible for the suicide bombings have either been killed or arrested. This week Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said he had asked the president to relax the draconian law to signal to foreign holidaymakers that the situation in the country was back to normal.

Sri Lanka’s parliament is currently investigating security lapses that led to the Easter attacks despite intelligence warnings. Sirisena himself has been accused of failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that jihadists were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka. </s> Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena has lifted a nationwide state of emergency imposed after Buddhist-Muslim clashes.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," Sirisena said on his Twitter feed on Sunday.

He declared a state of emergency on March 6 to rein in the spread of communal violence after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island's central district of Kandy.

Two people were killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned properties and more than 20 mosques were damaged, media reported.

Tension has been growing between the two communities over the past year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites. </s> Sri Lanka's President on Sunday lifted a nationwide state of emergency imposed on March 6 for the first time since the civil war following days of communal violence between majority Sinhala Buddhists and minority Muslims in the country.

President Sirisena, who returned to Sri Lanka last night from an official visit to India and Japan, removed the state of emergency as the situation in the country returned to normal.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday, he twitted on Sunday.

The government imposed a state of emergency on March 6 and blocked Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media sites following anti-Muslim violence in the island's central hills Kandy and Ampara districts in which three people were killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned properties, including mosques, were damaged.

Facing flak from the Opposition for not lifting the blockage on social media despite improvement in the situation, the government lifted the ban on Facebook on March 15 after officials from the US social media giant agreed to step up efforts to remove hate speech posted on its platform during the anti-Muslim violence.

The communal violence was triggered by the death of a Sinhalese man at the hands of a mob.

The government had deployed thousands of troops to restore peace and protect the minority Muslims and their property.

"The President decided to revoke the order in view of the improved security situation," a presidential official said.

The police arrested more than 200 people for violence against Muslims.

It was the first time in seven years Sri Lanka had imposed the measure. The country was under a state of emergency for nearly three decades when the government fought Tamil rebels LTTE in the civil war that ended in 2009.

Violence has risen in the Buddhist-majority country since 2012, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites. </s> Sri Lanka has officially ended four months of emergency rule imposed after a series of suicide attacks that killed more than 260 people, left the government in disarray and raised fears of renewed ethnic tensions in the island-nation.

President Maithripala Sirisena allowed the emergency rule, which was put in place shortly after the April 21 bombings, to lapse by not signing a decree that would extend it for another month.

He had previously extended the order on the 22nd of every month following the massacres that happened when suicide bombers attacked three churches and three hotels around the capital, Colombo, and the eastern town of Batticaloa on Easter Sunday.

"The minister of defence will not extend the state of emergency," the official government news portal tweeted on Friday.

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The emergency laws gave the military and police sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects without court orders. Critics charge it has been used to unfairly target Muslim citizens.

Hundreds have been arrested since April as the government used the emergency order, as well as curfews and social media blackouts, to tighten security across the country and hunt members of two local Muslim groups it said were responsible for the attacks.

Those groups had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), although a Sri Lankan investigator said in July that the groups were inspired, but not directly linked, to ISIL.

Sri Lankan authorities say all those directly responsible for the suicide bombings have either been killed or arrested.

A return to normal?

The end of emergency rule signifies a perceived calm returning to the country, which relies heavily on its $4.4bn tourism industry that has suffered since April. Several foreigners were killed in the bombings, which also wounded at least 500 people.

Tourist arrivals had slumped by 70 percent in May and 57 percent in June, compared with the previous year.

Earlier in the week, John Amaratunga, the tourism minister, had asked the president to relax the emergency law in hopes of signalling to foreign holidaymakers that the situation in the country was back to normal, according to the AFP news agency.

The government and the country's security apparatus remain in disarray since April, with accusations that officials did not act upon near-specific intelligence from foreign agencies before.

A parliamentary committee is investigating who was responsible for not taking the timely action.

In July, authorities arrested Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Hemasiri Fernando over allegations they failed to prevent the attacks.

Opponents have accused Sirisena of failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that attackers were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka.

The country is set to hold a presidential election later this year.

The tensions have buoyed support for Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is planning to run on a platform of restoring national security.

Gotabaya had been accused of war crimes committed during the 26-year-long conflict between the government and Tamil separatists, but is hailed as a hero by many for helping to bring the civil war to an end a decade ago.

Many arrested under emergency order

Military and police have been accused of targeting the country's Muslim minority, activists and politicians under the emergency order, provoking further fear after the bombings threatened to inflame tensions between the majority Buddhist and minority Muslim populations. Muslims make up nearly 10 percent of Sri Lanka's population of 22 million.

In June, a police spokesman told Al Jazeera that 2,289 people - including 1,820 Muslims - had been arrested in "connection to the Easter Bombings and related incidents".

That month, the EU said it was "deeply concerned by the political and religious pressure being directed at Sri Lanka's Muslim community which is undermining peace and reconciliation in the country".

Calls for ethnic violence by hardline Buddhist groups have also been reported across the country.

In May, mobs in the North Western Province destroyed hundreds of Muslims' properties, including shops and mosques, and killed one in what many believed to be retaliation for the April attacks.

In June, all of Sri Lanka's Muslim ministers resigned in protest over the government's failure to ensure the safety of its Muslim citizens. </s> Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday he had lifted a nationwide state of emergency imposed on March 6 after anti-Muslim rioting.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," Sirisena said on his Twitter feed, as reported by Reuters. He declared a state of emergency to rein in the spread of communal violence after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island's central district of Kandy. It was the first time in seven years Sri Lanka has resorted to such a measure. The island nation was under a state of emergency for nearly three decades as government forces battled Tamil rebels in a civil war that ended in 2009.

Two people were killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned properties and more than 20 mosques were damaged, media reported. Police said two dozen people had been arrested in the wake of the riots. The emergency measures, imposed for the first time since 2011, give authorities sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects for long periods and deploy forces where needed.

President Maithripala Sirisena said the measures would "redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country."

Sri Lanka's parliament issued an apology to its Muslim minority, which constitutes 10 percent of the country's population of 21 million. Tensions have grown between the two communities over the past year. Some Buddhist nationalists have also protested against the presence in Sri Lanka of Muslim Rohingya asylum-seekers from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has also been on the rise. </s> COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has ended four months of emergency rule imposed after suicide attacks on Easter Sunday killed more than 260 people.

The president's office said President Maithripala Sirisena allowed the emergency rule to lapse by not signing a decree extending it for another month.

The emergency laws gave the military and police sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects.

Two local Muslim groups have been blamed for the attacks on three churches and three hotels in and around Colombo and the eastern town of Batticaloa.

Seven suicide bombers participated in the attacks. Another committed suicide after his attempt failed, while another killed herself to avoid capture. </s> President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on 22nd of each month since April 21 attacks on 3 hotels and 3 churches.

Sri Lanka's parliament is currently investigating security lapses that led to the Easter attacks despite intelligence warnings. (Photo: File)

Colombo: Sri Lanka has ended a four-month state of emergency declared after Easter suicide bombings by Islamist extremists that killed 258 people, officials said Friday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on the 22nd of each month since the April 21 attacks on three hotels and three churches. However, his office confirmed that Sirisena had not extended it for another term and thereby allowed the emergency to end on Thursday.

"The President did not issue a fresh proclamation extending the emergency by a further period," an official source said. The official government printer also confirmed that there was no notification reimposing the state of emergency, which gives sweeping powers to police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods.

The government used the emergency as it tightened security across the country and hunted members of a local jihadist group which was held responsible for the attacks and which claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Police have said that all those directly responsible for the suicide bombings have either been killed or arrested. This week Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said he had asked the president to relax the draconian law to signal to foreign holidaymakers that the situation in the country was back to normal. Sri Lanka's parliament is currently investigating security lapses that led to the Easter attacks despite intelligence warnings.

Sirisena himself has been accused of failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that jihadists were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka. A parliamentary public inquiry has been told Sirisena -- who is also the minister of defence and law and order -- failed to follow proper national security protocols.

The mainly Buddhist nation of 21 million people was about to mark a decade since ending a 37-year-long Tamil separatist war when the Islamist extremists struck. </s> Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has lifted a nationwide state of emergency imposed earlier this month after Buddhist-Muslim clashes.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," Mr Sirisena said on Twitter on Sunday.

He declared a state of emergency to rein in the spread of communal violence after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island's central district of Kandy on March 6, 2018.

Two people were killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned properties and more than 20 mosques were damaged, media reported.

Tension has been growing between the two communities over the past year, with some Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.

Some Buddhist nationalists have also protested against the presence in Sri Lanka of Muslim Rohingya asylum-seekers from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has also been on the rise.

Lifting the state of emergency comes after Sri Lanka's Government on Thursday ended a ban on social media that was imposed because of concerns that it was being used to fan anti-Muslim violence in the country's central region.

Mr Sirisena ordered an immediate lifting of a ban on Facebook after his secretary met with company representatives.

He said they pledged they would not allow the service to be used to incite disharmony.

Soon afterward, Sri Lankans were able to use Facebook.

Viber and Whatsapp have also been unblocked.
Sri Lanka ends the state of emergency declared on March 6, 2018.