1,000 Muslim refugees flee homes after Sri Lanka retaliation attacks
Around 1,000 Muslim refugees in Sri Lanka have been forced from their homes in retaliatory attacks following the Easter Sunday bombings, according to Human Rights Watch.
Mobs threatened to destroy the houses of Afghans, Pakistanis and Iranians - most of whom are part of minority Muslim sects such as the Ahmadiyya - who had fled to Sri Lanka after suffering persecution in their homelands.
Some also reported that they had been beaten up by gangs wielding sticks and stones.
A small number of Christian refugees from the three countries have also been caught up in attacks through mistaken identity.
“The people in Pakistan attacked us and say we’re not Muslims,” said Tariq Ahmed, a 58-year-old Pakistani Ahmadiyya told Associated Press.
“Then in Sri Lanka, people attack us because they say we are Muslims.”
Around 650 refugees have sought shelter at a mosque in the city of Pasyala, near Negombo.
Others are believed to be staying in police stations or local schools while 30 Iranians have barricaded themselves inside their homes.
Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan government to protect its 1,600 asylum seekers as well as the broader population.
“Sri Lankan authorities not only have a responsibility to apprehend those responsible for the heinous East Sunday attacks but also to protect all those now at heightened risk,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Director for South Asia.
“This means providing safe and secure shelter for refugees and asylum seekers, but also taking prompt legal action against anyone who threatens them.”
Anti-Muslim backlash in Sri Lanka is at an all-time high as a result of the horrific Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Nine suicide bombers with links to Islamic State blew themselves up in churches and hotels, killing 253 people.
The Sri Lankan government has declared a state of emergency while it attempts to re-establish control.
An entire island-wide curfew was in place until Sunday and is still being upheld in three districts of the country.
A ban on clothing which conceals the face, including the burqa, has also been introduced while police hunt for suspects.
So far, over 100 people have been arrested in conjunction with the attacks while 15 suspected militants and their families died during a police raid in the east of the country on Friday.
