Sri Lanka imposes curfew in Kandy for 10 days

A day after violent clashes between the Muslims and Buddhists in the popular destination of Kandy, the Sri Lankan government has declared a state of emergency in the region.

“The curfew was imposed to control the situation in the area and Police officers are placed on heightened alert in Kandy to ensure the “situation does not spiral into inter-communal conflagration”, the government said in a statement.

Religious and ethnic violence can be at its heights in Sri Lanka, where Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and Buddhists Sinhalese make up nearly 75 per cent.

THe emergency was declared just hours before the T20 cricket match between India and Sri Lanka at Colombo. The Indian cricket team is expected to face Sri Lanka at 7 pm (IST) at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium.  This is the first match of the triangular Nidahas Trophy — to mark 70 years of Sri Lankan Independence — that also features Bangladesh. Neither the players nor the BCCI has given any statement regarding the state of the match at the time of writing this report.