Colombo: Nearly two dozen people were arrested on Tuesday even as parts of Sri Lanka were under indefinite curfew after a man was killed by majority Sinhalese mobs who set on fire Muslim-owned shops and vehicles and vandalised mosques in an escalating backlash following the Easter terror attacks.
The government on Tuesday relaxed nationwide night curfew in all areas except the northwestern province where the Muslim man was killed by a mob on Monday. Sri Lanka Police imposed island-wide curfew on Monday as anti-Muslim violence broke out in the northwestern province spread to other areas in the country as well.
Majority Sinhalese mobs set fire to Muslim-owned shops and vehicles. Homes and mosques were also vandalised by large groups of people armed with sticks and weapons.
The government also reimposed a ban on social media following the violent clashes. The government which blocked Facebook and WhatsApp on Tuesday extended the blockade to Twitter.
The social media blockade is meant to prevent the spread of rumours and hate comments, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said. The recent violence is a fresh backlash from the Easter attacks where nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts killing 258 people and injuring over 500 others.
