CCTV of anti-Muslim violence in Kandy this month reveal Sri Lankan politicians and police officers joined mobs launching the attacks, Reuters reported after reviewing the images and speaking to witnesses.
"Victims and witnesses, whose accounts were partly backed by CCTV footage seen by Reuters, described members of an elite paramilitary police unit, the Special Task Force (STF), assaulting Muslim cleric and leaders," the news wire said.
One Muslim cleric who witnessed the attack told Reuters that the police "came to attack", beating the people it was supposed to be protecting.
“They were shouting. There was filthy language. They said all the problems were because of us, that we were like terrorists," he was further quoted by saying.
Read more here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
