COLOMBO -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday instructed the island's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to lift a ban on social media, nine days after the Easter Sunday explosions.

The ban on social media was imposed shortly after the terror explosions on April 21 which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killing over 250 people and injuring over 500.

The government imposed the ban to stop the spread of false information after the bombings.

The Director General of Government Information Nalaka Kaluwewa on Tuesday urged the general public to act with responsibility now that the temporary ban on social media was lifted.