Sri Lanka imposes curfew amid anti-Muslim riots
Print Edition
Sri Lanka imposed a nationwide night curfew yesterday, after anti-Muslim riots spread to at least three districts just north of the capital Colombo in a violent new backlash against the Easter suicide bombings.
Official sources said the curfew was aimed at preventing a further escalation of violence, but police would not say why it had been extended across the country of 21 million people.
Initially, the districts of Puttalam, Kurunegala and Gampaha, near Colombo, were told to stay indoor after Christian-led mobs attacked several Muslim-owned businesses and mosques on Sunday and yesterday.
“The curfew in the three districts will be lifted at 6am on Tuesday while in the rest of the country, a curfew will be imposed from 9pm,” police said in a statement.
Police said there were sporadic incidents of mobs pelting stones and torching motorcycles and cars owned by Muslims. In the town of Hettipola, at least three shops were torched.
Police and troops fought off hundreds of rioters in at least six towns earlier yesterday with teargas. “Several shops have been attacked,” a senior police officer said. “When mobs tried to attack mosques, we fired in the air and used tear gas to disperse them.”
Earlier, authorities banned Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms after overnight riots gripped several towns in the region, including Chilaw.
Christian groups attacked Muslim-owned shops in a sign of the heightened tensions since jihadist suicide bombers attacked three hotels and three churches on April 21 killing 258 people.
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