A military officer has been appointed as the chief of the country’s top intelligence agency, it has been for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, which was blamed for failing to prevent the devastating Easter terror attack that killed more than 250 people in April.
Brigadier Suresh Sallay, the former director of the Military Intelligence, has been appointed as the chief of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) – the country’s premier spy agency. His appointment comes three weeks after former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president promising better security.
Rajapaksa is credited with helping end the island nation’s three decades long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his tenure as the defence secretary. In 2006, he survived an assassination attempt carried out by the LTTE with minor injuries.
Brigadier Sallay’s predecessor Nilantha Jayawardana was attached to the Police Headquarters.
First time in Sri Lanka’s history, military officer appointed as chief of top intelligence agency
