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Missing Muslims may have been seeking weapons: Lankan police
Colombo, Aug 26: Police today said that two Muslim men reported missing in eastern Sri Lanka might have been trying to illegally obtain weapons.
Colombo, Aug 26: Police today said that two Muslim men reported missing in eastern Sri Lanka might have been trying to illegally obtain weapons.
The police claim comes amid reports that Muslims are arming themselves because of fears of attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels, who were accused of killing at least four Muslims earlier this month.
Muslims and Tamils both minorities in Sri Lanka have clashed periodically in the past. But relations took a turn for the worse when Tamil rebels began moving into the east, where most of the country's 1.3 million Muslims live, following a cease-fire agreement with the government in February 2002.
The majority of Sri Lankans are Sinhalese, most of them Buddhists. Most of the country's Tamils are Hindus.
Police said they discovered through an investigation that the two missing Muslim men might have been seeking weapons.
“Evidence so far suggests they (the two men) were involved in something illegal,'' said Neville Wijesinghe, a police chief in the east. He declined to give details.
There was information to suggest that the two were on their way to buy weapons, another officer involved in the investigation said on condition of anonymity.
Muslims had earlier accused the tigers of abducting the two men.
Many Sri Lankan Muslims resent the tigers' presence in the east, and their plan to administer the area under an accord being negotiated with the government.
Bureau Report
Muslims and Tamils both minorities in Sri Lanka have clashed periodically in the past. But relations took a turn for the worse when Tamil rebels began moving into the east, where most of the country's 1.3 million Muslims live, following a cease-fire agreement with the government in February 2002.
The majority of Sri Lankans are Sinhalese, most of them Buddhists. Most of the country's Tamils are Hindus.
Police said they discovered through an investigation that the two missing Muslim men might have been seeking weapons.
“Evidence so far suggests they (the two men) were involved in something illegal,'' said Neville Wijesinghe, a police chief in the east. He declined to give details.
There was information to suggest that the two were on their way to buy weapons, another officer involved in the investigation said on condition of anonymity.
Muslims had earlier accused the tigers of abducting the two men.
Many Sri Lankan Muslims resent the tigers' presence in the east, and their plan to administer the area under an accord being negotiated with the government.
Bureau Report