In Sri Lanka, calm returned on Thursday after a new wave of violence against the Muslim minority. Violence perpetrated by radicalized Buddhists.
Despite the curfew decreed since Monday, three people were killed and a dozen residents were injured in Kandy, a city in the center of the island.
In a few days a hundred businesses and houses were set on fire and a mosque was ransacked. On Wednesday, a grenade also exploded in the suburbs of the city. The Buddhist who took him out died during the explosion.
Mohamed Samurdeen, Muslim trader: “ When we heard that we were being attacked we took refuge in the store. And we ended up fleeing because we were afraid. And then when we learned that the army had been deployed, we came back but the store was on fire so we tried to put it out. “
Seven rioters have been arrested for braving the curfew, local police say and internet providers have been ordered to block Facebook nationwide after malicious messages were distributed.
Violence erupted over the weekend after the death of a mob beaten Buddhist.
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The Sinhalese, predominantly Buddhist, constitute three quarters of Sri Lanka’s 21 million inhabitants. Muslims make up around 10% of the population and Tamils, mostly Hindus, around 18%.