According to sources, the police opened fire to prevent the mob from breaching the internal security cordon of the residence where Mahinda Rajapaksa is still hiding along with many of his loyalists.
A vehicle and a bus of security personnel were torched near the official residence of outgoing Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.
AFP news agency reported that shots were fired in the air from inside the official residence of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as protesters broke down the main gate and set a parked truck on fire. Rajapaksa had resigned from his post along with Health Minister Prof Channa Jayasumana earlier in the day.
According to sources, the police opened fire to prevent the mob from breaching the inner security cordon of the residence where Rajapaksa is still hiding along with many of his loyalists.
Sri Lanka has been hit by protests against the ruling government amid an unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities and a growing economic crisis caused by acute shortages of fuel and electricity.
Also read: | Sri Lankan Prime Minister resigns, sets fire to Rajapaksa’s ancestral house what happened today
Violent clashes broke out between pro-government and anti-government protesters outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office in Colombo on Monday, following which the prime minister resigned from his post. More than 150 people were injured in the violence.
Protesters set fire to the Rajapaksa family’s ancestral home in Medamulana, Hambantota. pic.twitter.com/QIEnREphjq
— Newswire (@NewsWireLK) 9 May 2022
There have also been reports of clashes from across the island nation after mobs supporting Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful protesters following his resignation. Police also fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Pro-Rajapaksa supporters faced wrath from protesters as they were leaving the capital to return home. Their vehicles were stopped and attacked in several cities.
The houses of several ministers and former ministers, including the ancestral home of the politically influential Rajapaksa family in Hambantota, were attacked and set ablaze.