Sri Lanka lifts state of emergency

A state of emergency has been lifted in Sri Lanka, President Maithripala Sirisena says.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena has lifted a nationwide state of emergency imposed after Buddhist-Muslim clashes.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," Sirisena said on his Twitter feed on Sunday.

He declared a state of emergency on March 6 to rein in the spread of communal violence after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island's central district of Kandy.

Two people were killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned properties and more than 20 mosques were damaged, media reported.

Tension has been growing between the two communities over the past year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.


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Source: AAP



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