COLOMBO: The US Embassy urged Sri Lankan authorities on Sunday to arrest and prosecute those responsible for vandalizing a mosque in the national capital.
An Agence France Presse (AFP) report said the Buddhist-led mob attack on the mosque at Grandpass district on Saturday has raised religious tensions and left the Muslim minority fearing further violence.
“This incident is particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka,” the US Embassy said in a statement.
“Targeting any place of worship should never be permitted and we urge calm from all sides,” it added.

In its statement, the US Embassy also urged Colombo to ensure religious freedom. Last March, the US government initiated a UN Human Rights Council resolution against Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes during its onslaught against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009.

Three Buddhist monks and 14 others who were arrested in connection with arson attacks in March were later freed as police and the victims did not press charges.
“We thought things were settling down since then. The government had also done a lot to calm the situation, but this incident came up suddenly and that has worried the community,” Farook said.

A security official told AFP Buddhists had objected to the new mosque which was constructed to replace an older place of worship that was earmarked for demolition.

“The Buddhist temple had objected to the relocation of the mosque and the troubles started during Saturday evening prayers of the mosque,” the official said, asking not to be named.  Four people injured in the attack, including two police constables guarding the mosque, remained in hospital Sunday.

Residents said temple bells summoned dozens of men who stormed the mosque and started throwing stones and beating up worshippers.
Several homes in the area were also damaged, residents said.

Radical Buddhists recently forced Islamic clerics to withdraw halal certification from food sold locally, claiming that it offended the majority non-Muslim population.  

Seventy percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million population follow Buddhism while Muslims are the second largest religious minority with just under 10 percent after Hindus who make up about 13 percent. Others are Christian.