Muslims in hiding in Sri Lanka as tensions rise after bombings

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/25/muslims-flee-town-in-sri-lanka-as-tensions-rise-after-bombings

Muslims in hiding in Sri Lanka as tensions rise after bombings

Michael Safi in Colombo and agencies

Thu 25 Apr 2019 12.50 BST

Hundreds of Muslims are in hiding after fleeing the Sri Lankan port city of Negombo as communal tensions rise in the aftermath of the deadly Easer Sunday bombings.

The bombings, which killed 359 people and injured 500, shattered the relative calm that has existed in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka since a civil war against mostly Hindu, ethnic Tamil separatists ended 10 years ago, and have raised fears of a return to sectarian violence.

A group of around 800 Muslims are being sheltered in one city, which the Guardian is not naming. There was a significant police presence outside their location and dozens of locals were protesting, calling for the group to be removed from the area.
(snip)

In other developments on Thursday, police officials confirmed that Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim, a prominent businessman and father of two of the bombers, had been detained in the aftermath of the attacks.

Police were investigating an unexplained blast on empty land behind the magistrate’s court in Pugoda, east of the capital, Colombo. There were no casualties.
(snip)

More people, including foreigners, were swept up for questioning overnight as domestic and international authorities investigated the Easter bombings. Police said an Egyptian and several Pakistanis were among those detained, although there was no immediate suggestion they had direct links to the attacks.
(snip)