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More than 100 arrested in new Sri Lanka "Grease Devil" clash
More than 100 arrested in new Sri Lanka "Grease Devil" clash
Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday arrested more than 100 people that threw rocks at police and soldiers who stopped them from chasing men thought to be "grease devils," or nighttime prowlers who have sparked an island wide spate of deadly violence.
At least five people including a police officer have been killed over the past two weeks in bouts of vigilantism and clashes, prompting deployment of the army and opposition accusations that the government may use the panic to keep wartime emergency laws in place.
Roughly 40 "grease devil" incidents have been reported in nine districts of the country, mostly in areas inhabited by minority Muslim or Tamil people as the government and opposition trade blame over the crisis.
Traditionally, a "grease devil" was a thief who wore only underwear and smeared grease over his body to evade capture.
But it became known as a nocturnal assaulter after a series of ultimately unrelated murders of elderly women arose in a southern area populated by the majority Sinhalese people.
The latest clash, in the military-controlled northern city of Jaffna, followed a familiar pattern. People chased unidentified men thought to be "grease devils," and then threw rocks at security forces who stopped them from pursuit.
"When the police searched the area for grease devils, people reacted angrily. So police took 100 people for questioning," military spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi said. A total of 102 were later arrested.
Nevin Pathmadeva, senior superintendent of police in Jaffna, said 22 people including four police officers were injured. Continued...
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