Sri Lanka has lifted a state of emergency imposed on Mar 6 in response to an outbreak of violence against Muslim communities.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena announced he was lifting the measure on Sunday (Mar 18) on his Twitter feed, having assessed public safety. Nationwide bans on social media websites including Facebook were also lifted earlier this week.
Mr. Sirisena declared a state of emergency to rein in the spread of communal violence after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island's central district of Kandy on Mar 6, 2018. It was the first time in seven years Sri Lanka had imposed a state of emergency.
At least two people were killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned properties and more than 20 mosques were damaged, media reported.
The country was under the measure for nearly three decades when the government fought Tamil rebels in the civil war that ended in 2009.
