Sri Lankan religious riots were a series of religious riots targeting Muslims that began in the Sri Lankan town of Ampara on 26 February 2018 , spreading to Kandy District by 2 March until its end on 10 March 2018 . Muslim citizens , mosques and other properties were attacked by mobs of Sinhalese Buddhists , and mobs of Muslims attacked Buddhists Temples and Sinhalese citizens . The Government of Sri Lanka undertook a forceful crackdown on the rioting by imposing a state of emergency and deploying the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to assist the Police in the affected areas . The situation was brought under control by 9 March . Two fatalities and ten injuries were reported among Sinhalese , Muslims and Police . According to the police , forty five incidents of damage to houses and businesses have been reported , while four places of worship have been attacked . The police arrested 81 persons in connection with rioting.The isssu was started due to group of Islamists in Sri Lanka Rioting in Kandy District began in Udispattuwa and Teldeniya , later spreading to Digana , Tennekumbura and other areas . It was sparked when a middle-aged truck driver of Sinhalese ethnicity was assaulted by four Muslim youth following a traffic accident . The truck driver died of his injuries four days later . On 5 March Sinhalese mobs began attacking Muslim properties in the region , resulting in widespread damage to property while some groups of local Sinhalese youth organized by Buddhist monks protected mosques from attackers ; cricketers Mahela Jayawardena , Kumar Sangakkara , and Sanath Jayasuriya condemned the attacks and nearly 300 mostly Sinhalese volunteers rebuilt a Muslim business in Anamaduwa . The riots , the first large-scale Buddhist-Muslim sectarian violence since similar riots in 2014 , prompted the Government of Sri Lanka to declare a State of Emergency for a period of ten days , in addition to the police curfew already imposed on the district . The state of emergency is the first such since 2011
similar riots in 2014
2014 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka