2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka

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Anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
Ampara Kandy
Location	Ampara and Kandy District, Sri Lanka
Date	26 February – 10 March 2018 (UTC+05:30)
Target	Mosques, Muslim-owned property, and Muslim civilians
Attack type	Widespread looting, assault, arson
Deaths	2
Injured	Ampara District: 5 Kandy District: 10
Motive	Kandy – Fatal assault on a Sinhalese lorry driver by four Muslim youths Ampara – Allegations of 'sterilization pills' in food served at a Muslim-owned eatery

The Sri Lankan anti-Muslim riots were a series of religious riots targeting Muslims that began in the town of Ampara located in Sri Lanka on 26 February 2018, spreading to the Kandy District from March 2 until its end on March 10, 2018.

Muslim citizens, mosques, and other properties were attacked by mobs of Sinhalese Buddhists. The Government of Sri Lanka undertook a forceful crackdown on the rioting by imposing a state of emergency and deploying the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to assist the Police in the affected areas. The situation was under control by 9 March. Two fatalities and ten injuries were reported among Sinhalese, Muslims, and the police. According to the police, forty-five incidents of damage to houses and businesses were reported, while four places of worship were attacked. The police arrested 81 persons in connection with the rioting.^[1][2][3][4]

Rioting in the Kandy District began in Udispattuwa and Teldeniya, later spreading to Digana, Tennekumbura, and other surrounding areas. It all began when a truck driver of Sinhalese ethnicity was assaulted by four Muslim youths following a traffic accident. The truck driver died of his injuries four days later. In response to this, on March 5, Sinhalese mobs began attacking Muslim properties in the region, resulting in widespread damage to property.^[5] Groups of local Sinhalese youth organized by Buddhist monks protected mosques from attackers. Cricketers Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sanath Jayasuriya condemned the attacks, and nearly 300 mostly Sinhalese volunteers rebuilt a Muslim business in Anamaduwa.^[6] The riots, the first large-scale Buddhist-Muslim sectarian violence since similar riots in 2014, prompted the Government of Sri Lanka to declare a State of Emergency for ten days, in addition to the police curfew already imposed on the district.^[7][8][9] The state of emergency was the first such since 2011.^[10][11]

Social media networks including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were blocked in parts of the country to prevent mobs from organizing their attacks and spreading propaganda.^{[12][13][14][15]} However, the block on social media networks was lifted after 72 hours. After three days of raids in the main town of Kandy, at least 81 people were reported to have been arrested in connection with the incident by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lankan police, including the main suspect Amith Jeevan Weerasinghe.^{[16][17][18][19]} The police officers stated that the unusual situation which prevailed in the country for a few days had been brought under control, but tight security was imposed in a few parts of the nation as the predicted threats had been focused on the Muslim prayers on 9 March 2018. The riots were denounced by Buddhist monks, and many Sinhalese and Buddhist monks rallied to protect and help Muslims and Mosques during the prayers across the country.^{[20][21][22][23]} According to the government, independent observers, Muslims and Sinhalese in the area, the majority of the rioters came from other areas of Sri Lanka to carry out the riots.^[24][25]

The government revealed that nearly 465 houses, businesses and vehicles were destroyed and promised to compensate the families who were severely affected due to the communal violence.^[26]

A few weeks after the end of the anti-Muslim riots, new CCTV footage revealed that some police officials aided the rioters. Furthermore, politicians of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party were seen during the riots. The party claimed that they were trying to calm the rioters, while the government accused them of helping the rioters. The activity caused an investigation by the police officials. It was confirmed that the deficiencies and ineffective attitudes of the police were to be investigated and questioned by the Sri Lankan government. Officials were later arrested on charges of torching a mosque but were granted bail after it was found that the alleged mosque was not torched.^{[27][28][29][30]}