Sri Lanka: state of emergency declared amid series of anti-Muslim attacks by Buddhists

A state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka
AFP/Getty images

A state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka amid a series of anti-Muslim attacks on mosques and businesses.

A tweet from the office of President Maithripala Sirisena said the decree would "redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country".

It said the country's security forces "have been suitably empowered to deal with criminal elements in the society and urgently restore normalcy".

The announcement came after Buddhist mobs swept through the town of Kandy on Monday, burning at least 11 Muslim-owned shops and homes.

The office of President Maithripala Sirisena said the decree would "redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country".

The attacks came after a Buddhist man was reportedly killed by a group of Muslims. Police later announced a curfew in the town.

Further details of the emergency decree were not immediately announced, and it was unclear how it would affect life on the south Asian island nation.

Buddhist-Muslim tensions have flared in recent years as extremist Buddhist organisations have spread.

The attacks came after a Buddhist man was reportedly killed by a group of Muslims

Lakshman Kiriella, a legislator from Kandy, said in parliament that the attacks were "carried out by outsiders".

"I am ashamed as a Buddhist and we must apologise to the Muslims," he said.

Sri Lanka has long been divided between the majority Sinhalese, who are overwhelmingly Buddhist, and minority Tamils who are Hindu, Muslim and Christian.

The country remains deeply scarred by its 1983-2009 civil war, when Tamil rebels fought to create an independent homeland.

While the rebels were eventually crushed, a religious divide has taken hold in recent years, with hardline Sinhalese groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert and destroying sacred Buddhist sites.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in