For Sri Lanka, a Long History of Violence

After a civil war that dragged on for nearly three decades, Sri Lanka had been enjoying a decade of relative calm. That was shattered on Sunday when a coordinated bombing attack killed more than 200 people.

Here is some context to help you understand the latest events in the small island nation.

Sri Lanka is known for its tremendous natural beauty, which attracted more than two million tourists in 2018 alone. But its people have long borne a burden of violence. How the latest attack fits into history of conflict, if it does at all, was not immediately clear.

The country gained independence from British rule in 1948 as the dominion of Ceylon, and became the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972.

But much of its history has been marred by sectarian tensions. And more recently, it has been caught up in much larger regional rivalries between China and India.