WASHINGTON, May 3 (IslamOnline) - At least two people were killed and several others injured when Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims clashed in Mawanella, a town located 50 miles from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
Two different versions on the cause of riots, which broke on Tuesday, have been reported.
A. Azwer, an MP of the opposition United National Party, said the riots erupted after a dispute between Rural Industrial Development Minister Maheepala Herath's security guards and a Muslim shop owner.
However, a state run radio station reported Wednesday that the riots started after armed Sinhala gangs demanded protection money from Muslim merchants in the area.
Police said one person was killed and around 20 people injured when Muslim protestors and police clashed Wednesday. More than a hundred homes and businesses have been destroyed.
On Thursday, police claimed to have restored calm with no reports of violence.
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, in a statement released late Wednesday, ordered the immediate arrest of anyone inciting violence in Mawanella.
She ordered officers to, ''to enforce the relevant laws sternly against any person who commits acts, especially against those who spread rumors leading to creating communal riots, and to take such persons into custody instantaneously.''
Muslims constitute around eight percent of Sri Lanka's total population. Traditionally, relations between Muslims and the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, who comprise 75% of the population, have been cordial and rarely have the two communities clashed in the past.
