Sri Lanka barred social messaging networks including Facebook on Wednesday to stem violence against minority Muslims after mob attacks continued despite the imposition of emergency on the Buddhist-majority island.
Tension has been growing between the two communities in Sri Lanka over the past year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites. Muslims deny this.
Some Buddhist nationalists have also protested against the presence in Sri Lanka of Muslim Rohingya asylum seekers from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has also been on the rise.
Police declared a curfew until 4 pm (1130 GMT) on Thursday in the central highlands district of Kandy, the epicentre of the violence since Sunday in the wake of the death of a Buddhist youth in an altercation with a group of Muslims.
Buddhist mobs attacked mosques and businesses belonging to Muslims overnight, residents said on Wednesday, even after President Maithripala Sirisena decreed an emergency for seven days to control the violence.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said there had been several disturbances throughout Tuesday night in the Kandy area, renowned for its tea plantations and scenic hilly beauty.
“The police arrested seven people. Three police officers were injured in the incidents,” he said. There was no information about how many civilians had been wounded, he said.