COLOMBO - In Sri Lanka, authorities have shut down social media to control violence against the Muslim minority. The government said some of the violence has been instigated over social media with postings appearing on Facebook threatening more attacks against the minority.
It said Facebook, Viber and Whatsapp would be blocked across the country for three days.
Police has clamped an indefinite curfew in the central highlands district of Kandy where the violence has been centered. President Maithripala Sirisena has also imposed emergency for seven days to control the violence.
Meanwhile, the UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said he is alarmed by the recurring episodes of violence against ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka.
In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, he said there should be no impunity, either for the incitement that led to the attacks, or the attacks themselves.