A curfew has been imposed in Sri Lanka after rioters set fire to the mansions of the ruling Rajapaksa family and MPs in protest of the country’s economic difficulties.
The nocturnal violence came after a day of agitation in which Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, but this did not bring peace.
Crowds surrounded his home and attempted to storm it; he was rescued in the early hours of the morning amid tear gas and warning bullets.
Since Monday, seven people have died and over 190 have been injured.
Authorities have extended the island-wide curfew till Wednesday morning in an attempt to stop the bloodshed.
Many demonstrators are still clamoring for Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign.
According to reports, at than 50 politicians’ homes were set ablaze overnight. The violence subsided as the day broke, but protests continued despite the curfew.
Protesters gathered in front of the Trincomalee Naval Base in the east amid unsubstantiated claims that Mahinda Rajapaksa had gone there with family members after fleeing his Colombo mansion.
Sri Lanka has been plagued by growing protests over rising costs and power outages since last month.
On Monday, government supporters collided with protestors in Colombo, first outside Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Temple Trees mansion, then at the main protest location at Galle Face Green.
After breaking through police lines and attacking protestors with sticks and poles, police and riot squads were deployed, and tear gas and water cannons were shot at government supporters.
Angry protesters replied by beating government supporters and targeting ruling party MPs, including one who, according to Sri Lankan police, shot two people when a mob stormed his car and then killed himself.
As the night progressed, hordes of protesters around the country set fire to the homes of the Rajapaksa’s, other ministers, and MPs.
This includes the Rajapaksa’s contentious museum in the family’s native hamlet of Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.
According to accounts, areas around the president’s official mansion were also set ablaze.
After an attack on his home, a local politician died in hospital.
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