{"id":64109,"date":"2019-05-14T03:09:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T07:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=64109"},"modified":"2019-05-14T03:14:02","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T07:14:02","slug":"bus-loads-of-outsiders-auded-by-local-goons-engage-in-sustained-anti-muslim-violence-in-kurunegala-district-two-suspects-linked-to-earlier-aluthgama-and-digana-attacks-on-muslims-seen-in-the-vicinit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=64109","title":{"rendered":"Two Bus Loads of Outsiders Aided by Local Goons Engage in Sustained Anti-Muslim Violence in Kurunegala District; Two Suspects Linked to Earlier Aluthgama and Digana Attacks on Muslims Seen in the Vicinity; Dayasiri Jayasekera Allegedly Freed Six Suspects Arrested by Police?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong> <\/p>\n

On Monday afternoon, mobs unleashed sustained violence on a group of villages in Kurunegala district in the island\u2019s North Western Province, damaging several mosques in the area.<\/p>\n

At least two busloads of people, aided by local goons, carried out raging attacks on mosques, Muslim-owned shops and homes on May 13 in Kurunegala, according to locals. This is the worst outbreak of violence since the Easter terror attacks in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

A 45-year-old Muslim man, who ran a timber store, succumbed to stab injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the mobs arrived in buses showed that these attacks were planned,\u201d said Hilmy Ahmed, vice-president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, an umbrella body of Muslim civil society organisations. \u201cIt was very much like the previous instances of anti-Muslim attacks,\u201d he told The Hindu on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sustained violence<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Monday afternoon, mobs unleashed sustained violence on a group of villages in Kurunegala district in the island\u2019s North Western Province, damaging several mosques in the area. Dozens of homes and shops were torched. The allegedly planned attacks prompted a police curfew and several residents spent the night in nearby jungles, hiding in fear, locals earlier told The Hindu. Social media platforms remain blocked after a government decision, and several Sri Lankans also complained of mobile data being interrupted.<\/p>\n

Further, a prominent legislator aligned to President Maithripala Sirisena, and suspects linked to earlier anti-Muslim attacks in the southern and central parts of Sri Lanka, have come under the spotlight in the wake of Monday\u2019s raging mob attacks targeting Muslims.<\/p>\n

Dayasiri Jayasekara, General Secretary of President Sirisena\u2019s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and a former Minister, visited a police station in one of the affected villages to reportedly transfer six suspects, who were in custody for allegedly violating the curfew, to another police station and to have them released on bail. The local English newspaper Daily Mirror on Monday reported that \u201cresidents in the area laid siege to the police station\u201d and demanded their release.<\/p>\n

Multiple attempts to reach Mr. Jayasekara proved unsuccessful, and messages seeking his response to the allegation have so far not been answered.<\/p>\n

Key suspects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Video recordings of the clashes shared by locals also revealed at least two key suspects \u2014 linked to hardline Sinhala Buddhist groups that led earlier anti-Muslim attacks in the island \u2014 were present in the vicinity, with the mobs. \u201cOne individual whose hate speech triggered the Aluthgama violence in 2014, and another linked to the Digana anti-Muslim attacks in 2018 were in the area,\u201d Mr. Ahmed said.<\/p>\n

It is unclear if police have arrested anyone in connection with the attacks, as officers in-charge in the affected areas and the police spokesman in Colombo could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

If the authorities do not take swift action the situation could \u201csnowball into a complex conundrum\u201d, cautioned Cabinet Minister and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem. Allowing such violence and \u201cpre-planned attacks\u201d, he said, was a reward to the \u201cdemented individuals\u201d who carried out the Easter bombings. \u201cThis is exactly what they wanted,\u201d he told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Observing that security forces had \u201cno excuse\u201d to let violence persist despite a police curfew, Mr. Hakeem said, \u201cWe raised the matter at a meeting with the top brass yesterday and things were later brought under control. But the situation in the country is very worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan On Monday afternoon, mobs unleashed sustained violence on a group of villages in Kurunegala district in the island\u2019s North Western Province, damaging several mosques in the area. At least two busloads of people, aided by local goons, carried out raging attacks on mosques, Muslim-owned shops and homes on May 13 in Kurunegala, …<\/p>\n

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