Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena lifts emergency

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday lifted the nationwide state of emergency, which was imposed on March 6, after clashes erupted between the Buddhist and Muslim community.

"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," Sirisena wrote on Twitter.

The state of emergency was declared due to violent and criminal activities, which had taken place in certain parts of the country earlier in March.

It had led to the loss of lives and damaged property.

Further, the violence in Sri Lankan town Kandy had caused tension and discord among ethnic and religious groups, leading to attacks on religious places, property, and transport facilities.

More than two dozen arrests were made, following the violence against the minority Muslim community in Kandy district, which also claimed two lives.

Members of the Buddhist community held protests outside a police station in Kandy demanding the release of its people who were arrested in the riots.

The police had deployed the country's Special Task Force (STF) to maintain peace.

The Sri Lankan government on March 6 had imposed a state of emergency for 10 days to control law and order in the country.