Attackers brought tires and set fire to them at the door of St. Anthony’s Church at Hokandara, just outside Colombo, but police guards later dispersed the mob, a resident said Sunday. Three days earlier, another Catholic church in the area was set ablaze.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has ordered a crackdown to stop attacks against Christian worship sites. Some Buddhist monks complain that Christian sects offer cash to poor people to persuade them to convert, a charge Christian groups deny.
