Communal clashes render 35,000 Lankan Muslims homeless

AFP, Colombo

Apr 20: Relief workers were battling Sunday to feed some 35,000 people left homeless in a Muslim-dominated town where inter-communal clashes threatened to scuttle Sri Lanka's fragile peace bid, officials said.

Police and army units patrolled the streets of Muttur, 270 kilometres northeast of the capital Colombo, to separate Muslim and Tamil mobs after rioting on Thursday and Friday left at least three people dead. Allegations that Tamil rebels abducted two Muslim men led to the latest rioting.

"There were no fresh incidents overnight and we have now eased the curfew here," local police chief Upali Hewage said by telephone.

"We will re-impose a night curfew today merely as a precautionary measure." The clashes threatened to undermine the Norwegian-backed peace bid aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

The government's peace negotiator and top Muslim leader, Rauf Hakeem, told reporters at Muttur Friday that he feared the unrest in the area could eventually lead to a scuttling of the fragile peace process.

Muslims, who are the second largest minority after Tamils, complain that Tamil Tiger rebels have attacked them in Muttur where the Muslims are in a majority.

For their part, the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a statement condemned attacks on Tamils carried out by Muslim mobs and appealed to Tamils to act with restraint.

"Attacks of this nature would affect the present peace process," the LTTE said. "Tamils and Muslims should join hands to identify the elements behind these attacks."

The rehabilitation ministry said some 7,314 families-or more than 35,000 men, women and children-were left homeless after the Muttur rioting and arrangements were being made to provide them with dry rations.

The top civil administrator in the region, N. P. K. Nelundeniya, said they have begun distributing food and other essentials to the homeless. "About 80 houses have been burnt, but more people have left their homes fearing attacks and sought shelter in public buildings and places of religious worship," Nelundeniya said.

He said the authorities were making arrangements to pay compensation to the victims so that they could rebuild their houses quickly and return home early.

Military officials said the situation in Muttur remained calm Sunday as soldiers patrolled the streets in support of police units in the fishing town. Scandinavians who are monitoring a truce between government forces and the LTTE said they did not know who was responsible for the violence, but they were trying arrange talks to ensure there was no repetition.

Targeting civilians or harassing them is a violation under the ceasefire that went into effect on February 23 last year. The truce is also the centrepiece of the peace talks between the government and the Tigers.

The government and the LTTE are set to open the seventh round of their face-to-face talks in Thailand later this month when human rights issues are expected to be taken up for discussion.