Sri Lanka violence death toll rises to 7

GBNews24 Desk//

The death toll from the violence that shook Sri Lanka on Monday rose to seven by Tuesday afternoon.

Streets in the country’s commercial capital of Colombo were calm today, after a day of clashes that also left more than 200 people injured, police said, in violence that prompted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.

As the Indian Ocean nation battles its worst economic crisis in history, thousands of protesters defied curfew to attack government figures, setting ablaze homes, shops and businesses belonging to ruling party lawmakers and provincial politicians.

“The situation is calmer now, though there are still reports of sporadic unrest,” said police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa, reports Reuters.

About 200 people were injured in addition to the seven killed as violence flared nationwide, prompting an islandwide curfew until 7:00 am (0130 GMT) on Wednesday.

No arrests have yet been made in the incidents of violence, the spokesman said, attributing three of the deaths to gunshot injuries.

The attacks on government figures came in apparent reprisal for an incident just hours before Rajapaksa’s resignation.

On Monday, Rajapaksa spoke to hundreds of supporters gathered at his official residence following reports that he was considering stepping down.

After his remarks, many of them, armed with iron bars, stormed a camp of those protesting against the government, beating them and setting fire to their tents.

Police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse the skirmishers, after having initially done little to hold back the government supporters, according to Reuters witnesses.