State of emergency lifted in Sri Lanka

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA

Sri Lanka’s president has lifted a 13-day state of emergency, imposed in a bid to quell communal clashes between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims.

In a statement posted on his official website, Maithripala Sirisena revoked the state of emergency as of Sunday midnight.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera had told Anadolu Agency a personal dispute was the initial trigger of the violence, and a curfew was later declared to bring the situation under control.

The dispute resulted in the assault of a Sinhalese man who died of his injuries a few days later.

Following violent incidents targeting Muslims in the country, the state of emergency was imposed in Sri Lanka’s central Kandy District.

Since last November, there have been significant incidents of communal violence in three regions of the island state -- South, East and Central -- targeting the Muslim minority.

Nearly 75 percent of Sri Lankans belong to the majority Sinhalese community, while Tamils make up another 13 percent. Muslims make up about 10 percent of the island’s nearly 22 million population.