Assault on Mosque Revives Sri Lanka Religious Tensions
Sri Lankan police deployed commandos and imposed a curfew on a Colombo neighborhood Saturday after a Buddhist-led mob attacked a mosque, wounding four people and reviving simmering religious tensions, officials said.
Two police constables guarding the disputed mosque in Colombo's Grandpass area were among those wounded and hospitalized, Colombo National Hospital spokeswoman Pushpa Soysa said. "They had been hit by stones and also had cut injuries from falling glass debris," Soysa told Agence France Presse. "We have two constables and two Muslim men admitted following the attack." Residents said temple bells summoned the faithful who went over to the neighboring mosque and started pelting stones. Several homes in the area were also damaged, residents said.
Seventy percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million population follow Buddhism while Muslims are the second largest religious minority with just under 10 percent after Hindus who make up about 13 percent. Others are Christian.
Police sources said elite Special Task Force commandos were deployed to help maintain law and order following mob violence against the mosque. Police said they had imposed a curfew until 7:00 am Sunday (0130 GMT) to disperse the large number of people still in the area.
A security official said Buddhists had objected to the new mosque which had been established to replace their older place of worship earmarked for demolition to make way for new construction. "The Buddhist temple had objected to the relocation of the mosque and the troubles started during Saturday evening prayers of the mosque," the official said, asking not to be be named. The latest attack came five months after an anti-Muslim campaign culminated in the torching of two Muslim-owned businesses just outside the capital.
Source: Agence France Presse
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