WEB DESK /AGENCIES / COLOMBO
Police in Sri Lanka imposed island-wide curfew till Tuesday amid fears of escalation in violence as mobs attacked several mosques, torched dozens of shops and homes of Muslims in Kurunegala District, some 100 km north-west of capital Colombo on Monday, in the biggest incident of violence since the April 21 Easter serial bombings.
A police curfew, initially imposed in six villages in the district, was later extended to cover the entire island until Tuesday morning, amid fear of further attacks. The government blocked social media platforms including Whatsapp and Facebook following the violence. Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake told local media that troops would not hesitate to use “maximum force” to contain the tense situation.
The incidents point to an escalation of violence targeting Sri Lanka’s Muslim community, following the Easter terror attacks that the government attributed to two local Islamist radical groups. The IS, too, later claimed responsibility for the explosions that claimed over 250 lives in Colombo, in nearby Negombo and the eastern city of Batticaloa.
Army chief Mahesh Senanayake warned of maximum force against those violating the curfew.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a message appealed for people to remain calm and not to be swayed by false information. He said security forces are working tirelessly to ensure the security of the country but such civil unrest increases their burden and hamper ongoing investigations.
Parliament speaker Karu Jaysurya in a message said future of Sri Lanka will be decided by the way people behave in the next few days. He said if communal violence cannot be prevented, terrorists will be able to legitimize their crime, as they did in 1983.
Social media sites were blocked for the third time since Easter attacks for preventing rumours to spread. An area in Negombo faced similar attacks last week while several social media posts are in circulation calling for a boycott of Muslim businesses.
In the wake of the ghastly Easter blasts, Muslim political leaders and activists – who had vehemently condemned the attacks, had flagged the possibility of a backlash targeting the community.