Pasyala, Sri Lanka - Hundreds of persecuted Ahmadi Muslims from Pakistan who sought refuge in Sri Lanka now huddle together in fear following attacks and harassment after the Easter bombings.
They are just some of the Muslims scared the Islamic State-claimed assault will bring both government and mob retaliation. Activists already say some Muslim youths have disappeared, perhaps arrested by tightlipped security forces.
Hundreds of Ahmadi Muslims from Pakistan who sought refuge in Sri Lanka now huddle together in fear following attacks and harassment after the Easter bombings. Picture: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP
Sunday's bombing killed over 350 people and wounded 500 more.
Ahmadi Muslim refugees who took refuge in Pasyala, northeast of Colombo, are just some of the Muslims scared the Islamic State-claimed assault will bring both government and mob retaliation. Picture: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP
The Ahmadi Muslims say the harassment only grew more amplified in the days after the attack, fueled by a mistaken sense that since they came from Pakistan, they too must be like the extremists.
Children of Ahmadi Muslim refugees at a community centre that they took refuge in Pasyala, northeast of Colombo. Picture: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP
Police and soldiers protect the Ahmadi mosque in Negombo, while police man an under-construction Ahmadi community center in Pasyala, where some 500 other Ahmadis had been bused.
Ten-day-old Amdad Ahamed, a son born to Ahmadi Muslim refugee family naps at a community centre that they took refuge in Pasyala, northeast of Colombo. Picture: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP
