One person killed and four injured in explosion in volatile eastern Sri Lanka ; curfew imposed

Protesters lobbed a grenade at a shop in eastern Sri Lanka - , killing one person and wounding four others, the military said.
A curfew was imposed following the attack in the town of Trincomalee, where police had already been put on alert after another grenade blast late Monday damaged a Buddhist statue and slightly injured one person. The town is 230 kilometers (140 miles) northeast of the capital, Colombo.
The protesters had gathered to demand that the statue be removed from the market square in the heart of the town, said S. Bandara of the Trincomalee police.
``Initial reports indicate that one person was killed and another four were injured'' in Tuesday's explosion, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake. He said no other details were immediately available.
The attacks occurred less than a week before the Vesak festival marking the birth of Buddha the most sacred day for people in this South Asian country, where 70 percent of the 19 million people are Buddhist.
Most shops, offices and schools were closed and public transport ground to a halt Tuesday in Trincomalee, home to equal numbers of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.