Communal Conflict

Communal Conflict

A communal conflict is a conflict in which groups that define themselves using ethnic, national or religious criteria make a claim against the state or other political actors. Sources of communal conflict might include a common homeland, religion, language, race etc. Communal conflicts differ in size and gravity, as it is a broad term used to cover many ethnic conflicts. An example of a communal conflict is that of modern Sri Lanka; since 1983, there has been simmering tension between the ethno-politically marginalized Tamils from the North and East, whose claim to a homeland has been rejected by the state and Sinhala-Buddhists from the South, who claim further territories.