Lanka deploys troops to stop communal riots

Sri Lanka deployed troops and ordered a night-time curfew in a southern town to end violent clashes between two ethnic communities, the government said yesterday.

Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka said the situation in Gintota in Galle province was under control, two days after a brawl degenerated into street violence between two groups -- one Sinhalese, the country's mainly Buddhist majority, the other from the Muslim minority.

Six people injured in the clashes were admitted to hospital in Galle city, according to local police who arrested 19 people.

It was not clear what triggered the clashes. The government relaxed the curfew yesterday  morning with a warning that police would arrest any instigators.