Buddhist Mobs Attack Sri Lankan Churches

Compass Direct News reports that Buddhist mobs attacked several churches in Sri Lanka last week, threatening to kill a pastor in the southern province of Hambanthota. On April 8, four Buddhist extremists approached the home of pastor Pradeep Kumara in Weeraketiya, Hambanthota district, calling for him to come out and threatening to kill him. The men phoned Kumara with direct threats later that day, and appeared outside his house again that night. "My children were frightened," Kumara said. "I tried to reason with him to go away, but he continued to bang on the door and threaten us." Earlier, on Palm Sunday (April 5), another group of men broke into the 150-year-old Pepiliyana Methodist Church in Colombo after congregants concluded an Easter procession. Witnesses said they saw them load valuable goods into a white van parked. "They removed everything," said the Rev. Surangika