Sri Lanka declares emergency to quell anti-Muslim riots
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Tuesday declared a nationwide state of emergency after riots targeting Muslims left at least two people dead and homes ablaze in a hill station popular with tourists.
The government said it was imposing the extraordinary measures after police failed to curb violence in Kandy, a central district famed for its tea plantations and Buddhist relics.
Heavily-armed police commandos were deployed to restore order in Kandy after rioters defied an overnight curfew and went on the rampage.
“The government is taking all possible measures to protect the people, especially Muslims,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament.
He said an inquiry had also been opened into security lapses by police that allowed mobs of Sinhalese rioters to burn mosques as well as homes and businesses belonging to Muslims.
The body of a 24-year-old Muslim man was pulled out of a burnt home on Tuesday. Police said two dozen people had been arrested in the wake of the riots.
President Maithripala Sirisena said the emergency measures would “redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country”.
Sri Lanka’s Parliament Tuesday issued an apology to its Muslim minority, which constitutes 10 percent of the country’s population of 21 million.