Emergency declared in Sri Lanka to quell riots
2 dead, homes set ablaze in popular hill station
Colombo, March 6: Sri Lanka declared a nationwide state of emergency for 10 days on Tuesday to stop the spread of communal violence after clashes erupted between majority Buddhists and members of the minority Muslim community.
Anti- Muslim riots have left two people dead and more than 100 homes and shops ablaze in the popular hill resort of Kandy. 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.
Armed forces were deployed to bolster security in addition to a unit of elite police commandos who were sent in to restore order after rioters defied an overnight curfew and went on the rampage. Tensions rose in Kandy Tuesday as the body of a 24- year- old Muslim man was pulled out of a burnt building. Police said two dozen people had been arrested following the riots and remanded for two weeks.
Colombo, March 6: 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- yearold 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.
The emergency measures, imposed for the first time since 2011, give authorities sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects for long periods, and deploy forces where needed.
President Maithripala Sirisena said the measures would “redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country”. — AFP