Easter Blast effect: Sri Lanka bans covering faces in public places

New Delhi : Using his emergency powers, Sirisena said that a ban has been imposed on any form of face covering in public. The restriction will take effect from Monday, his office said in a statement.

"The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult," the statement said.

The announcement comes days after Islamic State-claimed Easter blasts killed over 300 people.

Muslims in the majority Buddhist nation account for about 10 percent of its 21 million population. 

Most Sri Lankan Muslims practise a liberal form of the religion and only a small number of women wear the niqab.