SL declares emergency to quell anti-Muslim riots

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka declared a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday after anti-Muslim riots left two people dead and more than 100 homes and shops ablaze in the popular hill resort of Kandy.

The government said it was imposing the extraordinary measures after police failed to curb violence in Kandy, a central district famed for its tea plantations and Buddhist relics. Armed forces were deployed to bolster security in addition to a unit of elite police commandos who were sent in to restore order after rioters defied an overnight curfew and went on the rampage.

"The government is taking all possible measures to protect the people, especially Muslims," Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament. He said an inquiry had also been opened into security lapses by police that allowed mobs of Sinhalese rioters to burn mosques as well as homes and businesses belonging to Muslims.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the emergency had given them additional powers to arrest those using social media sites to instigate racial hatred and provoke violence. He said there were no reports of communal violence outside Kandy district, but police had stepped up security for the visiting Indian and Bangladesh cricket teams. "A unit of 1,000 police have been deployed to protect cricketers," Gunasekera told reporters in Colombo where India, Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka are playing in a tri-nation limited overs tournament which opened on Tuesday.