Muslim man is hacked to death by an angry mob in Sri Lanka in reprisals following Easter Sunday attacks which have forced nationwide curfew
- Sinhalese attacked Muslim shops and homes in several towns across Sri Lanka
- Rauff Hakeem, a Cabinet minister said a curfew had been imposed on Monday
- The violence is believed to be related to the Easter Sunday bombings last month
Mob attacks on Muslim communities in Sri Lanka's northwest have left one person dead and dozens of shops and mosques destroyed, a government minister said Tuesday, as communal violence worsened in the wake of Easter bombings that killed more than 250 people.
A Muslim man was hacked to death in Monday's violence in which members of the country's largely Buddhist majority ethnic Sinhalese attacked Muslim-owned shops and homes in several towns, said Rauff Hakeem, a Cabinet minister and leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.
With communal violence also reported in Sri Lanka's west, the government imposed a nationwide curfew Monday and temporarily blocked social media and messaging apps.
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A Sri Lankan soldier looks on as he stands guard by a damaged shop after a mob attack in Minuwangoda on Monday
Heavily-armed Sri Lankan soldiers ride motorcycles near the Jumha Mosque after the mob attack in Minuwangoda
'The curfew in the NWP will be continued until further notice,' spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. 'Security forces are assisting police who have been ordered to use maximum force to contain the violence.'
Police said they fired in the air and used tear gas at several places to deter people attempting to attack mosques.
In the adjoining district of Gampaha, mobs smashed Muslim-owned restaurants and at least one garment factory, official sources and residents said.
In an address to the nation on Monday night, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a countrywide curfew was declared to prevent unidentified groups orchestrating communal violence.
Sri Lanka authorities imposed a nationwide overnight curfew after outbreak of communal violence and clashes in the aftermath of the deadly series of Easter bombings
The prime minister said the countrywide curfew was declared to prevent unidentified groups orchestrating communal violence
'At several places in the North-Western Province these groups created trouble, damaged property,' Wickremesinghe said.
'Police and security forces have contained the situation, but these (unidentified) groups are still trying to create trouble.'
Wickremesinghe said the unrest would hinder investigations into the April 21 attacks that targeted three Christian churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people and wounding nearly 500.
In a separate TV address, police chief Chandana Wickramaratne warned of stern action against rioters, and said that constables have been issued orders to use maximum force.
A Sri Lankan province north of the capital was under indefinite curfew on May 24 after the first death in anti-Muslim riots on Monday
Sri Lankan firemen extinguish a fire at a shop after the deadly riots broke out yesterday afternoon
The attacks came during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
A state of emergency has been in place since the bombings - which the Islamic State group claims to have helped - and security forces have been given sweeping powers to detain suspects.
The latest wave of unrest started when a mob targeted Muslim-owned shops in the town of Chilaw, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Colombo, on Sunday in anger at a Facebook post by a shopkeeper.
Internet service providers said they have been instructed by the telecoms regulator to block access to Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram in a bid to prevent the spread of messages inciting violence.
Muslims make up around 10 percent of Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka's population and Christians about 7.6 percent.
A state of emergency has been in place since the bombings, which the Islamic State group claims to have helped
Locals look on as an area is cordoned off by heavily armed police officers after the deadly rioting
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