Sirisena said he was using emergency powers to ban any form of face covering in public. The restriction will take effect from Monday, his office said in a statement.
"The ban is to ensure national security ... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult," the statement said.
It came days after local Islamic clerics urged Muslim women not to cover their faces amid fears of a backlash after the bombings carried out by militants affiliated to the Islamic State group.
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