After the deadly riots in Sri Lanka, the authorities gave the order to shoot to quell further unrest. Security forces have been instructed to shoot at anyone who loots public property or endangers human life, the Defense Ministry said today. A curfew had already been imposed the day before, but people in many places resisted it.
In two places, police fired into the air to disperse groups of people attempting to set fire to vehicles. Earlier, an angry crowd attacked and set fire to a vehicle in which the senior police officer in the capital, Colombo, was sitting. A luxury hotel believed to belong to a relative of resigning Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaska was also set on fire.
The protests that have been going on for weeks in Sri Lanka, which has been shaken by a severe economic crisis, have recently escalated violently. Supporters of Rajapaksa, who drove to Colombo by bus, attacked demonstrating anti-government people with sticks and clubs, and the police used tear gas and water cannons.