Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has replaced Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Ranjith Maddumma Bandara as the new Minister of Law and Order reports the Press Trust of India.

The senior politician was sworn in as the new minister in charge of the police. The decision comes as Sri Lanka’s police forces faced criticism for failing to prevent the spread of Buddhist-monk led anti-muslim violence.

The UN High Commissioner for human rights has said there should be no impunity for the incitement and perpetration of attacks against Muslims in Sri Lanka this week.

Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, the High Commissioner, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said:

Reports that the severed head of a Muslim youth was found in a bag in Colombo have been circulating on social media since Wednesday morning.

According to Reuters, police have said they were investigating.

“The severed head of a youth was found in a mainly Muslim area in the capital Colombo, adding to tensions, residents said. Police said they were investigating,” Reuters reported.

Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom have all condemned the violence against Muslims in Kandy and other parts of Sri Lanka this week.

“Canada is deeply concerned by recent inter-communal violence in Sri Lanka, in which Muslims were targeted,” the country’s foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. 

Buddhist mobs continued to attack mosques and businesses belonging to the Muslim community, despite the imposition of a state of emergency on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

Sri Lanka’s police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said there had been several incidents occurring throughout Tuesday night in the Kandy area.

Speaking to Reuters Gunasekara, said,

“There was no information about how many civilians had been injured in the attacks.”

The United Kingdom, United States and Australia this week issued updated travel advisories warning their citizens over travelling to Sri Lanka amid anti-Muslim violence in Kandy district and the government's declaration of a state of emergency. 

“The Sri Lankan government announced a nationwide state of emergency in response to recent incidents of inter-communal violence in Ampara and Kandy. The state of emergency may include curfews in specific locations across the country. You should exercise caution, avoid protests and rallies, and comply with local security requirements,” the UK Foreign Office said. 

The Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe attempted to blame the "extremists who had come outside" for the anti-Muslim violence in Kandy. 

Several Muslim shops, mosques and homes were attacked this week by Sinhala mobs roaming through villages in the region. 

"Buddhist and the Islamic clergy in Digana and Theldeniya were engaged in a dialogue to resolve the issue peacefully but a group of extremists who had come from outside were the culprits who were engaged in violence," Mr Wickremesinghe told parliament on Monday. 

The UN office in Colombo today condemned the violence perpetrated by Sinhala mobs against the Muslim community in Kandy. 

Calling for immediate action to be taken against the perpetrators and that normalcy is returned, the UN Colombo office said, "The United Nations also urges authorities, and all citizens to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, human rights are protected, and security and safety is ensured for all." 

Yesterday the government declared a state of emergency, however anti-Muslim violence continues to be reported. 

The UN under secretary general, Jeffrey Feltman is due to visit Sri Lanka this week. 

In an unexplained move, Sri Lanka's Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission has ordered service providers to block mobile internet access in the violence struck region of Kandy. 

Earlier today, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile internet provider, in a tweet that has now been deleted, announced that mobile internet access had been restricted in the region following orders from the Commission.

The news comes has reports of further anti-Muslim violence in the region emerged over night.

The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena on Monday pledged to protect local industries, stating he would not allow any Foreign Direct Investment at their detriment. 

Making these comments at a meeting with ministers and industry leaders, Mr Sirisena said he had given instructions to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to not allow any foreign investment that would be a challenge to local industries. 

He was paying his attention "regarding the difficulties faced by local businessmen due to the granting of permission to a foreign retail networks to engage in business in Sri Lanka", he was quoted by Colombo Page as saying.