Curfew re-imposed in Puttalam
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 November 2002, 16:58 GMT]
Curfew which lasted from 6 pm yesterday to 6 am this
morning in Puttalam-Mathurankuli area has been re-imposed from 2 pm today to 6 am tomorrow to prevent further violence due to prevailing tension between the Muslim and Sinhala communities, sources said.
Police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are jointly providing
security and maintaining order in the area, according to sources. Yesterday, a group of Sinhala youths attacked a Muslim refugee camp in the Puttalam-Srimapura area causing damage to 15 houses and
destroying propery worth thousands of rupees. 65 Mulim families
were forced to seek temporary shelter in the nearby
Mosque, sources said. Following this event, Muslim settlements and
refugee camps in the Puttalam area have been reinforced with
further security personnel. Vanni district Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Noordeen
Marzook, inspected the affected areas and had consultations with senior security officials. The Officials told the
minister that investigations are ongoing and that they have the
situation under control. Minister of Interior, John Amaratunge, is also being kept informed of
the situation, sources said. Mr. Amaratunge had instructed the
Officers of Security Forces to take actions necessary
to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future.
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