Mon 06 May 2019:
Sri Lankan police arrested two people after mobs attacked Muslim-owned shops in one of the towns where a Catholic church was targeted in multiple suicide bombings in April that killed more than 250, according to local media reports. Hundreds of security forces entered Negombo, north of Colombo, to impose a curfew Sunday night after dozens of Muslim-owned shops, homes and vehicles were attacked by Catholics.
The curfew was lifted early Monday. Local media cited police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara as saying that the violence was brought under control. Reports also cited locals saying attackers burned a three-wheeler taxi and a motorbike while a gem-seller said about 400 people stoned his shop. Military spokesman Sumith Atapattu said Sunday several people had been injured in clashes in the town.
To control the situation, the government had blocked some social media sites overnight which was lifted early today. St. Sebastian’s church in the town 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of capital Colombo was one of three churches and three hotels hit by suicide bombers on April 21, killing 257 people.
“I appeal to all Catholic and Christian brothers and sisters not to hurt even a single Muslim person because they are our brothers, because they are part of our religious culture,” said Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo. “Therefore please avoid hurting them and try to create a better spirit of understanding and good relations between all the communities of Sri Lanka,” he said in a video message to the country.
The cardinal visited Negombo, held talks with clerics at a mosque and appealed to the government to shut bars in the Catholic-dominated town known as “Little Rome,” said his spokesman Father Edmund Tilakaratne. “As a temporary measure, the cardinal asked the government to order the ban on liquor sales in Negombo area,” Tilakaratne told AFP. In another televised appeal, Ranjith appealed to Christians, Buddhists and Muslims to show restraint.
Negombo suffered the highest death toll in the Easter Sunday attacks that were claimed by the Daesh terror group. The bomb at St. Sebastian’s killed more than 100 worshippers. A top police officer said two arrests were made after the latest clashes and more suspects had been identified through CCTV footage.
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