Sri Lanka has banned any clothing that covers faces and prevents identification, such as niqabs and burqas, a week after the Easter bombings that left more than 250 people dead.

The ban does not directly refer to Muslim female garb, burqa and niqab, but was seen as a clear reference to the type of dress.

A statement from the office of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said the ban would be introduced from Monday under new regulations brought under a state of emergency in response to the Easter bombings in the capital, Colombo.

The country’s Justice Ministry had already been considering introducing laws preventing wearing of the burqa and niqab, but has expedited the ban.

On Sunday, a group of Muslim leaders had called on community members to refrain from wearing clothing that hindered people being identified.

There have also been wider calls for the burqa to be banned, and some luxury hotels had already introduced their own bans.

However, the bombers who killed more than 250 people at churches and in hotels were men with uncovered faces. Those caught on camera were shown wearing Western dress.

A week after the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka’s Catholic churches remained closed last weekend because of security fears.

However, Mr Sirisena and and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attended a televised mass at the home of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo.

Also on Sunday, Sri Lankan police raided the headquarters of the hardline Islamist group founded by the suspected ringleader behind the suicide bombings.

Armed police in the town of Kattankudy searched the headquarters of the National Thawheedh Jamaath (NTJ) and detained one man at the premises, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. Police did not comment.

-with AAP