Radical Buddhist monks stormed a United Nations safe house for Rohingya refugees near Sri Lanka\u2019s capital Tuesday and forced authorities to relocate the group, officials said.<\/p>\n
Saffron-robed Buddhist monks led a mob that broke down gates and entered the walled multi-storied compound as frightened refugees huddled together in upstair rooms, a police official said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have pushed back the mob and the refugees will be relocated in a safer place,\u201d the official told AFP, asking not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.<\/p>\n
The 31 Rohingya refugees were rescued by the Sri Lankan navy in May after they were found drifting in a boat off the island\u2019s northern waters.<\/p>\n
The Rohingya were eventually to be resettled in a third country, the official said, adding that they were authorised to remain in Sri Lanka pending the processing of their papers.<\/p>\n
A monk who stormed into the building was filmed by his radical Sinhale Jathika Balamuluwa (Sinhalese National Force) as he urged others to join him and smash the premises.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are Rohingya terrorists who killed Buddhist monks in Myanmar,\u201d the monk said in his live commentary on Facebook, pointing to Rohingya mothers with small children in their arms.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka\u2019s extremist Buddhist monks have close links with their ultra-nationalist counterparts in Myanmar. Both have been accused of orchestrating violence against minority Muslims in the two countries.<\/p>\n
The police official said the refugees were taken into \u201cprotective custody\u201d and had been brought back to their safe house when the mob returned and started throwing stones.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar in the face of the current wave of violence in that country.<\/p>\n
The Rohingya Muslims have been the target of decades of state-backed persecution and discrimination in mainly Buddhist Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Many view them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite their long-established roots in the country<\/p>\n
Courtesy: ECONOMYNEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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