Police have arrested 10 persons, including a key suspect, in connection with the recent anti-Muslim attacks in Kandy, Sri Lankan officials said on Thursday.
A total of 81 suspects have been arrested so far since the violence broke out in the central highlands last weekend, police said.
Areas in and around Kandy, in the island’s Central Province, were largely peaceful on Thursday, local sources said, a day after a fresh wave of arson attacks Sinhalese mobs that severely damaged Muslim-owned property in the nearby Akurana and Katugastota towns.
Despite the presence of the Army and police personnel across the district, the violent incidents were not contained, locals said.
One killed in grenade attack
Confirmed reports of a grenade attack emerged late on Wednesday. A police source told The Hindu that one person was killed and 11 were injured in the attack. Further details were not available.
Amid escalating violence in Kandy since last weekend, President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday declared a state of emergency. A police curfew was also imposed in the area, with occasional suspension. The government also banned social media networks such as Facebook, Whastapp and Viber to prevent panic and further tensions.
A man walks out of his damaged house after a clash between two communities in Digana central district of Kandy, Sri Lanka on March 8, 2018. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Administration and Management Ranjith Madduma Bandara on Thursday assumed charge as Sri Lanka's Law and Order Minister, replacing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took temporary charge of the Ministry in a recent Cabinet reshuffle. The change comes amid mounting public criticism of the police for inadequate action to stop the violence.
Though said to be triggered by a road rage clash involving a Sinhalese driver, who died of his injuries caused by a group of Muslim youth, the subsequent violence in Kandy, targeting Muslim-owned shops and homes, is seen by many as a continuing trend since 2012. Engaging in anti-Muslim hate speech, hardline Sinhala-Buddhist groups set off similar violent incidents in the last few years. A week before the attacks in Kandy, several mosques and shops run by Muslims were attacked in the eastern town of Ampara.
Security alerts to travellers
Following the recent tension, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia issued security alerts to travellers visiting the country, and Kandy in particular. The local newspaper Sunday Times reported that at least 10% of tourists scheduled to visit Kandy cancelled their reservations in the light of the volatile situation.
However, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) on Thursday said that Kandy was “fast returning to normal” and tourists could resume their travel plans, according to local media reports.
