Five people were killed and 230 injured in fresh violence in Sri Lanka where the prime minister resigned after weeks of protests. This, after the worst ever economic crisis in the country.
As clashes were reported on Monday, authorities imposed curfew for an indefinite period across the nation of 23 million people and sought military help to curb violence.
Anti-government protesters who were demonstrating peacefully since April 9 began retaliating after they were attacked by followers of outgoing premier Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Homes of many ruling party politicians were burnt or razed to the ground overnight despite curfews. Hundreds of motorcycles parked in those homes were also burnt.
“This is something we should have done earlier,” an unidentified man told the local media. “We are sorry we couldn’t burn it sooner.” The home and shrine of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s personal shaman, Gnana Akka, was brought down in an arson attack in the town of Anuradhapura.
“The situation is out of control. It seems that from crisis to normalcy it will take a few months, but the economy may not get better in years. It is a u-shaped curb the country’s economy is facing and will take at least a minimum of five years to get but to where it was,” said an economist, critical of Rajapaksa government.
