The United States Embassy in Colombo today expressed concern over the attack on a mosque in Grandpass by a violent mob, leaving at least five people injured and damaging several houses.
Curfew was imposed while hundreds of police, including anti-riot squads and elite Special Task Force commandos, remained on alert in the Grandpass area after the clashes last night.
“This incident is particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka,” the embassy said in a release.
Targeting any place of worship should never be permitted and we urge calm from all sides, the US embassy said, while calling for the prosecution of perpetrators in the attack and “an end to religious-based violence.”
The right of all Sri Lankans to practice the religion of their choice should be protected, the embassy release said.
