An indefinite curfew was imposed on Tuesday in a Sri Lankan province north of Colombo after anti-Muslim riots in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Social media has also been blocked in the island-nation.
Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency since the attacks. Security forces and police have been given sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects for long periods.
The latest wave of unrest started when a mob targeted Muslim-owned shops in the town of Chilaw, 70 km north of Colombo, on Sunday after a Facebook post by a shopkeeper. “Don’t laugh more, 1 day u will cry,” was posted as a comment on Facebook by the shopkeeper, a Muslim. Local Christians took the post to be a warning of an impending attack. Mobs smashed the man’s shop and vandalised a nearby mosque prompting security forces to fire in the air to disperse the crowd. Authorities said the author of the post had been arrested.
An earlier nationwide night curfew was relaxed in all areas except North Western Province (NWP) where a Muslim was killed by a mob on Monday, police said. The 45-year-old man died of injuries after a crowd stormed his carpentry workshop in Puttalam district of NWP and slashed him. Police chief Chandana Wickramaratne warned of stern action against rioters, and said constables has been issued orders to use “maximum force”.
In a day of rioting elsewhere in the province, mobs burned down dozens of Muslim-owned shops, vandalised homes and mosques. “The curfew in NWP will be continued until further notice,” police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.
Addressing the nation on Monday night, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a countrywide curfew had been declared to prevent unidentified groups orchestrating communal violence. He said the unrest would hinder investigations into the 21 April, which killed 257 and wounded nearly 500 people.
Sri Lanka also temporarily banned some social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, after a posting sparked anti-Muslim riots across several towns.