Hard-line Sri Lanka Buddhists mob attack Rohingya refugees

Associated Press
Sri Lankan Buddhists march in a rally in Colombo on Sept. 15, 2017 showing solidarity to Buddhists in Myanmar. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena/ file photo)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: A group led by Buddhist monks mobbed a United Nations-run safe house for Rohingya Muslims claiming that they were terrorists and demanding they be sent back to Myanmar, prompting police to relocate them.
Dozens of protesters from Sri Lanka’s majority Buddhist community led a mob that entered a multi-storied house at Mount Lavinia on the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital on Tuesday.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said about 30 Rohingya Muslims were moved to a safe location following the protest led by monks and lay persons. Sri Lanka’s majority Sinahlese are Buddhists.
Gunasekara said Rohingya Muslims were arrested by Navy in April when they tried to illegally enter Sri Lanka. A court had ordered them be kept at a safe location run by the UN.