At least one killed and three injured during explosion in violence-hit Kandy district

At least one person was killed and three injured during an explosion yesterday evening in violence-hit Kandy district as several shops and establishments belonging to minority Muslim community were burnt. 

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear and the victim was part of the mob who were defying the curfew to carry out attacks. 

Several attacks on minority properties were reported leading to the extension of curfew to the whole of the district. People were advised not to move out of their homes and schools ordered to close until further notice.

The emergency was clamped in the country on Tuesday but it has not helped much to calm the situation. The government decided to shut down social messaging networks including Facebook to control violence. 

President Maithripala Sirisena visited the district and held meetings with security officials and religious leaders to discuss the situation. A government minister said the violence has been instigated by



people from outside the area and there is an organized conspiracy behind these incidents.

The violence has invited widespread criticism from minority leaders and civil society groups. Muslim MPs threatened to vote for the no-confidence motion against Prime minister if the violence does not stop. Tamil National Alliance charged the President and Prime minister of being spineless in face of violence directed against numerically inferior communities.

The imposition of emergency was not able to contain violence yesterday as several incidents were reported from the district. President Maithripala Sirisena visited Kandy and appealed to religious leaders for help in building communal harmony. 

But the government has come under attack from opposition and civil society groups for failing to control the situation. Muslim MPs threatened to vote for the no-confidence motion against Prime minister while Tamil leaders termed the government as spineless in protecting minority interests.