A VIGIL will be held in the heart of Southampton tomorrow to honour the victims of the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka.

The Southampton Council of Faiths and the Muslim Council have created the vigil which will be held at the Peace Fountain in the city’s East Park .

This comes after seven suicide bombers carried out attacks on six separate targets in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, the western city of Negombo and the eastern city of Batticaloa. The attacks killed 321 people and injured at least 500 more.

Carol Cunio, chair of Southampton Council of Faiths, said: “It is a time of reflection and we wanted to do this as soon as possible, as Parvin Damani, who chairs the Muslim Council, and I work closely together. She was very upset by what happened in Sri Lanka because Muslims have been blamed for it.”

She added: “It will be low key and is a chance to provide empathy as we are thinking of the victims. It is unbelievable what has happened. How people can do that to to others is beyond my thinking.”

“When I saw what happened on the news I thought not again, on Easter Sunday of all days. There I was going to church with my family and that is happening on the other side of the world.”

The vigil will start at at 7pm on Friday, April 26, and last for approximately 30 minutes with both groups planing to gather around the fountain in a circle, which will feature candles and lights.

The event is open to people of all faiths and the organisers are hoping for someone from Sri Lanka to speak at the vigil. Members of the public are also able to say a few words at the vigil.

Parvin Damani, chair of the Muslim Council, said: “This is about giving people the opportunity to meet with other people who also feel upset and it is also about solidarity. It is heartbreaking to see innocent lives come to an end.

“The Muslim Council and the Council of Faiths collectively condemn this action so we just want to come together and hug each other, because it can happen anywhere.”

She added the vigil “makes our voices heard and shows life goes on and our prayers are with them and anywhere there is violence all over the world”.

The Southampton Council of Faiths and the Muslim Council hosted a vigil in March at the Peace Fountain after a white supremacist gunman attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, resulting in the death of 50 people.