Sri Lanka is dangling on the brink of collapse after intense violence recurred in the Island South East Asian country.
This follows an Easter Sunday terrorist attack that left some more than 250 people dead and 500 more injured.
Monday, Sinhalese protesters are said to have mobbed a Muslim carpenter at his workshop and slashed him dead.
The mob of about 100 people is said to have targeted Mosques in Colombo, where they wreaked havoc, causing mayhem in their wake.
Police in Sri Lanka has since declared a 9pm-4am curfew where citizens are required to be in their homes during the night as the army conducts raids on suspected troublemakers.
The government has intermittently blocked social media to avoid the spread of misinformation, and the police have declared curfews in some cities after smaller clashes.
The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said attacks had been reported in at least five towns in the North Western province. The area has traditionally been home to both Sinhalese, who are largely Buddhist, and Muslims, who are a minority in the country.
Control Situation
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a statement late on Monday, said security forces had moved in to control the situation in that province.
“These groups are trying to create unrest in other areas now,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said. “The intention of provoking violence at this moment is to create difficulties for the armed forces and the police, to disrupt peaceful civilian life, and to make the country unstable. Therefore the government has decided to declare curfew throughout the country.”
Sri Lankan leaders have urged citizens to remain calm despite their pains so as to avoid the clashes like the one which happened in 1983.
During the time, the Sinhalese Buddhist majority protesters burned thousands of Tamil Muslims’ shops and homes.
It is estimated that some 4000 people were killed, a battle that sank the country into a civil war which lasted for 26 years.
Stern Action
Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, commander of the Sri Lankan Army, said forces from the army, the air force and the navy were deployed across the country to help the police restore order.
“I say again: We will take stern action to apprehend, arrest and even to fire and use minimum or maximum powers given under emergency,” General Senanayake said in a statement.