Calm returning to Muslim neighborhoods in Sri Lanka

KANDY, Sri Lanka – Calm is beginning to return to violence-hit Muslim neighborhoods in Sri Lanka's Kandy region, with many shops reopening as army reinforcements put an end to Buddhist mob attacks that hit the area.

Army commander Mahesh Senanayake says security forces have managed to control mob violence that hit the area earlier in the week, adding he met with community and business leaders on Friday.

He says victims accused the police and the elite police Special Task Force of just looking on while they were targeted.

Religious divisions have grown in Sri Lanka with the rise of Buddhist nationalist groups that stoke anger against minority Muslims.