Muslims hide in Sri Lanka as tensions increase after bombing | News from the world

At least 700 refugees from a persecuted Islamic sect are hiding after fleeing their homes in the port city of Negombo, Sri Lanka, as community tensions escalate following deadly attacks on Easter Sunday.

The bombings, which killed about 253 people (the death toll was revised Thursday by the Ministry of Health), have broken the relative calm prevailing in Sri Lanka Buddhist majority since the civil war that took end ten years ago. and feared a return to sectarian violence.

A group of about 500 Muslims is hosted in a city, which the Guardian has not named. There was a significant police presence outside their place of residence and dozens of residents were protesting the withdrawal of the group.

"These people have to be removed from this place," said a local provincial council member. "We do not want them." Signs in English and Sinhalese posted outside indicate: "We do not need Pakistani refugees."

Police said the refugees would be forced to stay a few more days before they could be transferred safely. The group belongs to the Ahmadiyya community, a minority cult of Islam persecuted in Pakistan and legally banned from entering the holy cities of religion, Mecca and Medina.

"We have seen some attacks on houses, refugees have been beaten and stones thrown, so people are afraid to stay at home," said Sri Lankan activist Ruki Fernando.

"The Pakistanis attacked us and said we are not Muslims," ​​said Tariq Ahmed, a 58-year-old Ahmadi who fled his home to the Associated Press. "Then in Sri Lanka, people are attacking us because they say we are Muslims."

The Ahmadis themselves have fled decades of persecution in Pakistan and elsewhere. Ahmadis believe that another Islamic prophet, Ahmad, appeared in the 19th century, which goes against the fundamental Islamic principle that Muhammad was the last messenger sent by God.

Pakistan amended its constitution in 1974 to declare non-Muslim Ahmadis. Ten years later, the government declared that pretending to be a Muslim was a crime.

"We are not their enemies. We are facing the same situation that these people are facing, "said 21-year-old Qazi Moin Ahmed. We are not terrorists, but they consider us terrorists. "

Babar Baloch, a spokesman for UNHCR, said the agency had received refugees informing them that they "had been the target of threats and intimidation" and that efforts were being made. continued to be deployed to ensure their safety. Some 1,600 refugees and asylum seekers are registered with UNHCR in Sri Lanka, he said.

"UNHCR works closely with local and national authorities, who have helped and ensured the safety of all refugees and asylum seekers at this time of increased concern and anxiety," Baloch said.

The 22 million people of Sri Lanka are minority Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Until now, Christians had largely avoided the worst of tensions on the island.

Security has been strengthened in churches, which have been ordered to remain closed until further notice, government officials said. A high priest told AFP: "No public mbad will be said until further notice."

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said on Thursday night that leaders of the Islamic community had agreed that the bodies of terrorists would not be buried in a mosque cemetery.

"The Muslim community is so angry about what it wants to deny [the bombers]Said Hilmy Ahmed, a senior board official, an organization that brings together groups from Muslim civil society. "Their bodies will eventually be released – all that remains of their body. [We] will not entertain the burial in the mosque. "

He added that the council of theologians in the community, a group of religious scholars, had initially resisted this idea, but it had yielded and approved Thursday.

In other events on Thursday, police officials confirmed that Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim, a well – known businessman and the father of two of the bombers, was arrested in the aftermath of the attacks.

More and more people, including foreigners, were interrogated overnight as national and international authorities investigated the Easter bombings. Police said one Egyptian and several Pakistanis were among those arrested, although no immediate suggestion revealed to them a direct link to the attacks.

Most Sri Lankans were victims, although the authorities confirmed that at least 38 foreigners were also killed. These included British, American, Australian, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals.

A group of nine well-educated Islamist suicide bombers from the country, including a woman who perpetrated the attacks, emerged. However, the authorities have also focused their investigations on international links with national Islamist groups – National Thowheed Jamath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim – who they say perpetrated the attacks.

Isis has offered no firm information to support its claim for liability. He released a video Tuesday showing eight men, all but one masked, under a black flag of the Islamic State and declaring their loyalty to his leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

The man whose face can be seen has been identified as Mohamed Zahran, also known as Zahran Hashim, a preacher from eastern Sri Lanka who is known for his militant views and whom officials regard as the brain of the 'attack. Abdul Latheef Mohamed Jameel, who studied in the United Kingdom and Australia before returning to Sri Lanka to settle, was identified as one of the suicide bombers.

Police said Thursday that another 16 people were arrested for interrogation overnight, bringing the number of detainees since Sunday to at least 76. This number includes a Syrian national.

According to a police statement, one of those held overnight was linked to a terrorist organization but gave no other details. Another was detained after investigating publications on the individual's Facebook page and found out what he was describing as hate speech.