Sri Lanka's Special Task Force and Police officers stand guard near a burnt house after a clash between two communities in Kandy. REUTERS/Stringer

A temporary state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka in order to take 'stern action' against communal violence in the country, a government spokesperson said today.

Emergency has been in imposed in Sri Lanka for 10 days as a precautionary measure. The announcement today came a day after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the island nation's central district of Kandy.

Tension has been growing between the two communities in Sri Lanka over the past year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.

Some Buddhist nationalist have also protested against the presence in Sri Lanka of Muslim Rohingya asylum-seekers from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has also been on the rise.

The emergency announcement came just hours ahead of a cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo. However, the emergency announcement is unlikely to affect the match, the Indian team management suggested.

In a statement issued shortly after emergency was declared, the Sri Lankan President's Media Division said, "The President promulgated a State Emergency a short while ago to redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country."

"The Police and Armed Forces have been suitably empowered to deal with criminal elements in the society and urgently restore normalcy," the statement added.

"At a special cabinet meeting, it was decided to declare a state of emergency for 10 days to prevent the spread of communal riots to other parts of the country," a government spokesman, Dayasiri Jayasekara, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Sri Lanka's army soldiers stand guard at a road after a clash between two communities in Kandy. REUTERS/Stringer

"It was also decided to take stern action against people who are instigating violence through Facebook," he added.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today ordered security forces and police to enforce law and order and to take immediate action to counter acts of violence affecting any community involved with government agents or other district administrative authorities, the government said.

Condemning hateful and mischievous misinformation campaigns on social media targeting the Muslim community, the Sri Lankan government urged its citizens to not fall for prey to such activities aimed to create disharmony.

"As a country that has suffered acts of violence for nearly three decades, we, as a nation, should desist from the repetition of such," Sudarshana Gunawardhana, Director General of Government of Information Department of Sri Lanka said.

Gunawardhana also condemned the sporadic incidents of violence sparked off in Ampara and Digana where some places of worship, residences and businesses were damaged.

Earlier today, former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa spoke about the clashes on Twitter. "It is the Sri Lanka government's responsibility to maintain law and order in Digana. Action could have been taken sooner to prevent clashes. I urge residents to remain calm and act with reason," Rajapaksa said on Twitter.

KANDY VIOLENCE

The unrest in Sri Lanka's Kandy began on Sunday after the funeral of a truck driver from the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community. The driver died days after he was involved in an altercation with four Muslims, the government has said.

It was not clear why the initial altercation occurred but after the driver's funeral on Monday, a Sinhalese mob attacked Muslim shops, police said. The body of a Muslim youth was found in a burnt-out house early on Tuesday, police said.

Muslims make up about 9 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million people. Buddhists make up about 70 percent and ethnic Tamils, most of whom are Hindus, about 13 percent.

Yesterday, the Sri Lankan government sent troops and elite police to Kandy after a mob set fire to a Muslim-owned shop, imposing a curfew there on Monday to prevent clashes between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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