Sri Lanka ends curfew

Muslim protesters clash with police

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka has lifted a curfew clamped on capital Colombo and surrounding areas after clashes between Mulsim protesters and police.

Police said the curfew ended as planned at 6 a.m. local time Saturday after no new incidents were reported in the wake of clashes on Friday in the city.

The 12-hour curfew had also been imposed in the country's Western province to help restore order and keep people off the streets after eight people were killed in riots.

The demonstrations followed fighting earlier this week between minority Muslims and the Sinhalese majority in the central town of Mawanella, 80 km (50 miles) east of Colombo, that left at least two dead and much of the town in ruins.

Muslims in Mawanella blamed the skirmishes on an attack on a Muslim merchant by Sinhalese thugs and accused police of delaying an investigation.

Mawanella has a large community of Muslims, accounting for eight percent of the country's total population.

Sri Lanka has been hit by decades of ethnic strife between the larger Tamil minority, many of them Hindu, and the mostly Buddhist Sinhalese. Clashes involving Muslims are rare.

Friday's curfew created huge traffic jams as workers tried to get home from the centre of Colombo and clogged telephone systems delayed calls.

Reuters contributed to this report.

See related sites about Asia

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.