England may consider cancelling Bangladesh tour after foreigner killings

England Cricket Board has indicated on Saturday they were prepared to cancel a tour of Bangladesh if they or the British government deemed the security situation in Bangladesh unsafe come the squad’s scheduled departure date.

This reaction is the aftermath of a terrorist attack in the capital city of Dhaka in Bangladesh which saw 20 foreigners getting killed in the country. Gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka late on Friday before troops entered almost 12 hours later.

At least twenty foreigners were brutally murdered with sharp weapons by militants inside the popular restaurant situated in the high-security diplomatic zone where expatriates were present. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the carnage at the start of the Eid holiday. England are due to arrive in Bangladesh on September 30 for a month-long tour including three one-day internationals and two Test matches.

“The safety and security of our players and management is always of paramount importance to ECB and this applies to all teams representing England on overseas tours,” said the spokesman.

“We will continue to monitor and assess the situation in Bangladesh over the coming weeks and months and will undertake a thoroughgoing and robust pre-tour inspection of planned security arrangements for the England team.

“We will also continue to work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and should our director of security, Reg Dickason, or the FCO, advise that the environment is not acceptably safe or the right measures not in place, we would take the appropriate steps.”

Survivors of the attack told of how the hostage-takers separated locals from the foreigners who were eating side-by-side before going on a killing spree which was brought to an end 11 hours later in a fierce gun battle.

The victims of the attack were mainly foreigners. Although there was no exact breakdown of the casualties, the army said most of the slain civilians were either Italian or Japanese. Most had been slaughtered with sharpened weapons.