Sri Lanka imposes new curfew as mosques attacked

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Sri Lanka imposes new curfew as mosques attacked

KINIYAMA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka widened a curfew on Monday after attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in the worst unrest since Easter bombings by Islamist militants and blocked Facebook and WhatsApp to stop people inciting violence.

The island nation has ramped up security as fears grow that minority Muslims among its population of 22 million could face sectarian violence after Islamist bombers blew themselves up in four hotels and three churches, killing more than 250 people.

Several mosques and Muslim homes were damaged in an attack overnight in the western district of Kurunegala, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka and residents said.

Police arrested a group of men for the attacks but people in the mostly Buddhist district then demanded their release, military spokesman Sumith Atapattu said.

"To control the situation, a police curfew was imposed during the night," he said. Later on Monday, authorities extended the curfew to more villages in Kurunegala district to restore order.

Last month's bombings claimed by Islamic State have shocked the island nation of 22 million people, more than 70 percent of whom are Sinhalese Buddhists and the rest Muslims, Hindus and Christians.

Since the bombings, Muslim groups say they have received dozens of complaints about people being harassed.

There was glass everywhere at the Abrar mosque in the Muslim-majority town of Kiniyama that was attacked overnight. All the windows and doors of the soft-pink building were smashed and copies of the Quran were thrown onto the floor.

Seven bikes parked outside were damaged.

A mosque official said the attacks were triggered when several people, including some Buddhist monks, demanded a search of the main building after soldiers had inspected a 105-acre (43-hectare) pond nearby.

"When Muslims tried to prevent the attack, we were asked by police to go inside," the official said.

Authorities imposed a temporary ban on social media networks and messaging apps after a clash in another part of the country was traced to a dispute on Facebook.

Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores and a man was beaten in the Christian-majority town of Chilaw on the west coast on Sunday in the dispute that started on Facebook, police sources and residents told Reuters.

Authorities said they arrested the author of a Facebook post, identified as 38-year-old Abdul Hameed Mohamed Hasmar, whose online comment "1 day u will cry" people said was interpreted as threatening violence.

"Social media blocked again as a temporary measure to maintain peace in the country," Nalaka Kaluwewa, director general of the government information department, told Reuters on Monday.

On Twitter, Sri Lanka's leading mobile phone operator, Dialog Axiata Plc, said it had also received instructions to block the apps Viber, IMO, Snapchat, Instagram and Youtube until further notice.


https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/13...orst-anti-muslim-unrest-since-easter-bombings
 
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A Facebook post has sparked anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, with Christian and Muslim community leaders calling for calm. <a href="https://t.co/joMug4NXyG">pic.twitter.com/joMug4NXyG</a></p>— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) <a href="https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1127971760593408000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Doubt this will become mainstream news.

Yes, highly unlikely.

That's why it is up to us to be aware of the whole picture and to promote its awareness. Besides showing the necessary solidarity with the victims it should also help limit the radicals and extremists propaganda ammunition to paint themselves as the only one who care about the injustice.
 
Sri Lankan government has too do what it considers to be the best thing.
 
It's generally the Buddhists who are attacking. Pretty weird considering christians were the ones being attacked.
 
Sri Lanka vows 'maximum force' against anti-Muslim rioters

Sri Lanka has partially lifted an overnight curfew imposed nationwide after an upsurge in anti-Muslim violence, three weeks after the deadly Easter Sunday bombings.

The curfew in the North-Western province will remain until further notice, police said.

Mosques and Muslim-owned shops have been vandalised or set on fire, and one Muslim man has been slashed to death.

In several towns, police fired into the air and used tear gas to disperse mobs.

Tensions have been high since Islamist militants attacked churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, killing more than 250 people.

In a televised address, Police Chief Chandana Wickramaratne warned that officers would respond to rioters with maximum force.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also appealed for calm in the early hours of Monday, saying the current unrest was hampering the investigation into last month's attacks.

Muslims make up nearly 10% of Sri Lanka's 22 million people, who are predominantly Sinhalese Buddhists.

How did the violence unfold?
The unrest was centred on three districts north of the capital, Colombo.

In the north-western town of Kiniyama, windows and doors to a mosque were smashed and copies of the Koran thrown on the floor.

The attack was triggered by a group of people demanding a search of the building after soldiers inspected a lake nearby looking for weapons, Reuters news agency reports.

In the Catholic-majority town of Chilaw, Muslim-owned shops and mosques were attacked after a dispute that started on Facebook, police said.

A 38-year-old Muslim businessman identified as the author of the post that sparked the violence was arrested.

A man died from stab wounds after a mob attacked his business in Puttalam District, also in Sri Lanka's north-west.

"Mobs had attacked him with sharp weapons at his carpentry workshop," a police official told AFP news agency. "This is the first death from the riots."

Incidents were also reported in the town of Hettipola, where at least three shops were reportedly torched.

How has the government responded?
The government says that security forces have restored calm to streets in the areas affected by violence and insist officers are preventing revenge attacks on Muslims.

"What we want to say is that the government is very determined to control this and from tonight onwards it shall be completely controlled," Shiral Lakthilaka, an adviser to the president, told the BBC.

Leaders from across the political spectrum have been pleading for calm and urging people not to share rumours via social media.

Officials have blocked some social media platforms and messaging apps, including Facebook and Whatsapp, in an attempt to curb outbreaks of unrest.

"I appeal to all citizens to remain calm and not be swayed by false information. Security forces are working tirelessly to apprehend terrorists and ensure the security of the country," the prime minister tweeted on Monday.

Nevertheless, there is concern among some Muslims that their fears about retaliatory violence were not acted on soon enough. One Muslim businessman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC he feared for his safety.

"We can see many places where the curfew has been announced. The army is on the streets with guns, but they don't take any action against the violence," he said.

What happened on Easter Sunday?
On Sunday 21 April six near-simultaneous suicide bombs exploded at hotels and churches across the country. Hours later, two more bombs were detonated, with fewer casualties, as police closed in on those behind the bombings.

More than 250 people were killed in the wave of the attacks which stunned the world and the country - Sri Lanka was weeks away from marking 10 years of relative peace since the end of its brutal civil war.

Police have blamed two local Islamist groups for the Easter Sunday bombings and dozens of arrests have been made in the weeks since. The Islamic State group has said it was involved but has given no details.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48257299
 
It's generally the Buddhists who are attacking. Pretty weird considering christians were the ones being attacked.

There were anti-Muslim sentiments among some a minority of Sinhalese even before the attacks.

Its ironic that during Sri Lankan Civil war, a lot of Desi Muslims supported the Sinhalese in wiping out the LTTE, and cheering on massacres ….. yet when the civil war ended, it turned out there was a chauvinist subgroup who would hate and attack any minority, be it Tamils, and after that Muslims.....
 
Its almost a civil war like situation in Sri lanka, i hope it doesn't escalate any further.
 
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