New Delhi:Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores and a man was beaten in a dispute that started on Facebook, sources told Reuters. Sri Lankan media also reported incidents in several nearby areas overnight.
The Sri Lankan government said on Monday it was temporarily blocking some social media networks and messaging apps, including Whatsapp and Facebook, after a mosque was attacked in the wake of Easter bombings, Reuters reported.
The Sri Lankan police on Sunday imposed curfew with immediate effect in the country’s Christian dominated town of Chi law after a mosque and few shops owned by Muslims were attacked by a mob.
In the Facebook thread that led to the dispute, a user wrote in Sinhalese, “it is difficult to make us cry” along with a local slur for Muslim men.
A Facebook user Hasmar Hameed who was later arrested replied in English, “don’t laugh 1 day u will cry”.