Buddhist mobs attack church services in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Buddhist militants attacked two church services in Sri Lanka Nov. 12. In the first church attack, a mob of some 100 people, including four Buddhist monks, pasted anti-Christian posters in the neighborhood of an Assembly of God church in Yakkala, Gampaha district, and blocked the road leading to the church.

Four days later, as a Christian woman arrived at the pastor’s house asking for prayer, a nearby man doused her with a container of burnt oil. In the second church attack, a mob of about 35 people — including 12 Buddhist monks and a local government official — walked into the Sunday service of the Mizpah Prayer Ministry in Nawalapitiya, Kandy district, demanding that the service cease immediately. "We were threatened that if we gathered together for worship again, the building would be flattened," the local pastor said.