October 31, 2002	Thursday	Sha’aban 24,1423

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COLOMBO, Oct 30: One person was killed and 12 injured in clashes Wednesday between the majority Sinhalese community and Muslims in Colombo, much of which was put under curfew, police said.

Police stressed the violence was not linked to the second round of peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, which were due to begin in Thailand on Thursday.

At least five homes and four vehicles were destroyed in the ethnic clashes in which 13 people were taken to hospital, where one person with a head injury died, medical officials said.

The violence erupted in the morning when Muslims began work on a building that has been the subject of a court dispute with a Sinhalese Buddhist group.

The Sinhalese had objected to a multi-storey structure near a Buddhist temple and a court ruled that the building in the Maligawatta area of central Colombo could be put up only if it was one floor.

But some Sinhalese believed the laying of concrete at the site showed the Muslims intended to construct a multi-storey structure, leading to the violence, witnesses said.

Army and navy reinforcements were called in to prevent the violence from spreading, and air force helicopters were brought in for surveillance.

A curfew was imposed over the entire north of the capital, with police urging office workers to avoid the area during rush hour.

“The curfew will be strictly observed and any troublemaker will be severely dealt with,” said Colombo police chief Bodhi Liyanage.—AFP