Sri Lanka: A nation-wide state of emergency has been imposed in Sri Lanka to “take stern action” against people instigating communal violence, Aljazeera reported.
The move comes after days of unrest between religious communities in which a Buddhist man was killed and Muslim businesses set ablaze.
According to Aljazeera Police on Monday said that there had been riots and arson attacks since the weekend in Kandy district.
Qouting sources Al Jazeera claimed that the violence was spreading throughout the South Asian island nation.
“In February 2018, five people were wounded and several shops and a mosque were damaged during a clash between Buddhist and Muslim groups,” says the report.
In Sri Lanka Muslims are 10 percent of the 21 million population, and Buddhists Sinhalese make up nearly 75 percent. Another 13 percent of the population are Hindus.
Aljazeera said that some observers have put blame on the nationalist Buddhist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) group for the ongoing violence.
Some hardline Buddhist groups have also accused Muslim groups of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites, said the report.
President Maithriplal Siresena had vowed to investigate anti-Muslim crimes after assuming power in 2015, but no significant progress has been reported, said the Aljazeera report.
