Sri Lanka boosts security
Elite police commandos patrolled a suburb of the Sri Lankan capital yesterday after hundreds of rampaging Buddhist hardliners torched a Muslim-owned business in the latest in a series of mob attacks.
At least three people were wounded when mobs from the ethnic Sinhalese majority stoned and later set fire to a clothing store in Pepiliyana on Thursday night, police spokesman Buddhika Siriwardena said.
"We have deployed extra units of STF (Special Task Force commandos) and police to guard the area," Siriwardena told AFP. "The situation was brought under control within a few hours."
No arrests had been made, Siriwardena said.
The authorities have not declared a motive for the attack, but official sources said it appeared to be part of the ongoing targeting of minority Muslim businesses by a group of Sinhala-Buddhist hardliners.
Hundreds of men smashed parked vehicles, stormed the Fashion Bug store and set fire to merchandise before escaping, witnesses told AFP.
Army units were called in to disperse the mob as tension gripped the area.
The attack came a day after Sri Lankan police set up a hotline to tackle complaints about anyone suspected of "inciting religious or racial hatred".
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