Imposed emergency to prevent unsatisfactory security situation: SL President

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena promulgated state emergency to redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country, the Media Division of the Sri Lankan president said in a statement on Tuesday.

The police and armed forces have been suitably empowered to deal with criminal elements in society and to urgently restore normalcy, it added.

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

A curfew was reimposed on Monday in two police divisions of Kandy district till Wednesday morning following the tense situation.

More than two dozen arrests have been made so far, following the violence against the minority Muslim community in Kandy district which 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 have said that the special security arrangements put in place in the areas will continue and the country's Special Task Force (STF) has been deployed to maintain peace.