Colombo: A mob consisting of mostly Catholics, attacked Muslim-owned shops in a town targetted by terrorists on Easter Sunday, April 21. The violence prompted the church authorities to call for peace and a cease in hostilities towards the Muslims in the area.
The violence began with an argument between a Muslim tuk tuk driver and a group of Catholics, who wanted to inspect the vehicle, on Sunday in Porutota village near Negombo.
According to an anonymous source who spoke to CNN, the argument over the vehicle soon turned into full-blown violence and dozens of rioters rampaged through the streets. The tuk tuk was set ablaze and two Muslim-owned shops were also attacked by the mob.
The incident was caught on video and showed a street of the coastal town littered with debris and a number of men bearing sticks.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Sri Lanka Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara blamed the violence on two drunk groups. Extra police forces had to be deployed to the coastal village after the violence broke out and a curfew was also enforced on Sunday “to control the situation”, he added.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe announced in a statement that said that the government would compensate anyone who lost property in Sunday’s riots.
Blaming the clashes on drunkenness, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, called for all liquor shops in the area to be closed saying that people “sometimes behave worse than animals” when under the influence of alcohol.
The Cardinal then pleaded with the Catholic community not to “raise a hand against the Muslims” and added that “the Muslims are not behind this incident”. He said that “misguided people” being manipulated by “international forces” are behind the attack. “We should not harm anyone according to the teachings of our religion,” he added.
Leaders of both the Muslim and Christian communities have expressed concerns over further violence after the Easter Sunday attacks which left more than 250 people dead and 500 injured.
Police and army soldiers have also been deployed to many churches and mosques around in the island nation since the attack on April 21. This has been done out of fear of further terrorist violence and revenge attacks.
