Three churches were attacked on Christmas Eve in the south of the island, with at least one of the attacks involving Buddhist monks, reported the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL).
The organisation reported that in Angunukolapalassa more than 300 villagers and Buddhists monks gathered outside the church demanding all services be stopped. On the same night unidentified assailants attacked two others churches in Hikkaduwa.
On the 21st of December, in yet another attack, two petrol bombs were thrown at churches in Galle.Earlier, Yamini Ravindran, National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka’s (NCEASL) advocacy officer, had said,
“Christmas is commercialized for the Christians residing in the main city areas; however, for most Christians in the rural or Buddhist-dominant villages it is a completely different scenario. It is an event filled with joy and fear for them. Joy to remember the birth of Christ—fear to conduct services boldly and fear of attacks against churches, pastors, or Christian members.”
Also see our earlier post: Warm wishes indeed (26 December 2013)