Lanka vows max force against anti-Muslim rioters
Colombo, : Sri Lanka has partially lifted an overnight curfew imposed nationwide after the worst bout of anti-Muslim violence since the deadly Easter Sunday bombings.
Mosques and Muslim-owned shops were vandalised or set on fire, and one Muslim man was slashed to death.
A curfew will remain in the North-Western province until further notice, police said.
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 three weeks ago 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, saying the current unrest was hampering the investigation into last month’s attacks, the BBC News reported on Tuesday.
Muslims make up nearly 10pc of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people, who are predominantly Sinhalese Buddhists. Mob violence in central Sri Lanka targeting Muslim communities in March of last year prompted the government to declare a state of emergency.
UNI.