COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s minority Muslims attended Friday prayers as heavily armed troops and police guarded all mosques, including those badly vandalised in riots in the wake of the Easter terror attacks.
Police said security would remain tight over the weekend for a major Buddhist festival as well as the 10th anniversary of the ending of the country’s decades-long Tamil separatist war.
Clerics said some of the damaged mosques cleared out glass shards and other debris and conducted services with attendance at a high level.
“We had about 450 to 500 people,” M. I. M. Siddeeque, the trustee of the riot-hit Kinyama mosque in the worst affected North-Western Province said.
“There were six soldiers outside the mosques and many more police at the top of the road.”
Siddeeque said his mosque was cleared of the debris, but windows, furniture and the public address system were yet to be replaced.
In the town of Minuwangoda, the faithful packed the first floor of the two-storeyed Hujjaj mosque to pray even though repairs were yet to begin.
Local residents said Buddhists and Catholic priests were also present as a sign of solidarity with Muslims community.
Police said there were no major incidents although sporadic clashes were reported from a handful of places.
app
