Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday extended the country's state of emergency by a further month due to the security situation in the country after the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 258 people.

The president signed an extraordinary gazette notification which said the emergency was in effect for public security, the preservation of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community.

Sirisena declared the state of emergency on April 22, a day after multiple terror attacks in the country and then extended it by a further one month on May 22, as security forces continued to conduct nationwide raids to hunt for suspects linked to the attacks.

Police said more than 100 suspects in connection with the Easter Sunday attack had been arrested so far.

In late May, Sirisena told diplomats from Australia, Canada, Japan, the U.S. and European states that the security situation was "99 percent back to normal" and he would allow the emergency laws to lapse by June 22.

(Cover: A family member of victims reacts while praying during the reopening ceremony of the St. Anthony's Shrine, one of the churches attacked in the April 21st Easter Sunday bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka June 12, 2019. /VCG Photo)