45 people were arrested and a curfew was imposed in much of the city of Colombo as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to demand his resignation for failing to deal with the worst economic crisis.
The foreign exchange crisis in Sri Lanka has led to shortages of essential items such as fuel, cooking gas and electricity shortages that last up to 13 hours a day.
Demonstrators protested on Thursday with instructions against their awareness, as gross mismanagement by the Rajapakse regime has exacerbated Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange woes. They were also demanding for the resignation of President Rajapaksa.
Several policemen were injured and vehicles were set on fire in the ongoing protests as spontaneous action by public anger over the economic crisis turned violent.
According to the information gathered, 45 people have been arrested. Five policemen were injured when a police bus, a jeep and two motorcycles were set on fire. Protesters also damaged a police water cannon truck.
A curfew covering most of the Colombo district and the suburban police station of Kelaniya was imposed at midnight on Thursday but was lifted at 5am on Friday morning. In the Kelanya area, protesters blocked the main Colombo-Kandy road.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis which has left people frustrated with long queues for fuel, cooking gas, short supply of essentials and long hours of electricity.
Rajapakse has defended his actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not of his making and that the economic downturn was largely pandemic-driven in which the island’s tourism revenue and inward remittances declined.
