Sri Lanka crisis: Rajapaksa's ancestral home set on fire, a ruling-party MP killed - 10 updates

Colombo: Hours after clashes broke out in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, where supporters of the ruling party stormed an anti-government protest camp and were beaten back by police using tear gas and water cannon, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation.

Here are 10 key updates from Sri Lanka:

- Ruling party parliamentarian Amarakeerthi Athukorala died after a standoff with anti-government protesters in the town of Nittambuwa near Colombo, a police source told Reuters. At least three others were wounded and the area remained tense with dozens of protesters still at the location, the source said.

- The ancestral home of the Rajapaksas in Hambantota was set on fire by a group of anti-government protestors, hours after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned in response to the mounting demand for his ouster as Sri Lanka's prime minister.

- Former Sri Lankan cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga,  talking about recent violence in Sri Lanka, said, "We did not expect peaceful protestors to be attacked. Things were getting into place before this particular incident happened... The police handled things very badly, didn't stop them."

- Video footage showed the entire house of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Medamulana in Hambantota city was burning away as protestors hooted away, the Daily Mirror reported. Protesters had also destroyed several properties of ministers and lawmakers of the ruling coalition 

- Nalaka Godahewa, a government spokesman, said all cabinet members had also stepped down. "Now the president will invite other political parties to form a unity government," he told Reuters."The president will meet with independent and opposition political parties and we expect a new government in the next few days."

- Pro-government supporters were attacked in at least four locations as they were returning from Colombo, media reported. The houses of at least two mayors were also set on fire, police sources told Reuters.

- Sri Lankan media also reported that a fire has broken out near the back gate of Temple Trees, the official residence of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister here. Protesters have also attacked the house of Badulla District parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachch and later set it on fire.
The house of Puttalam MP Santha Nishantha was completely destroyed due to an arson attack.

- Pro-government supporters, some armed with iron bars, attacked anti-government demonstrators at the "Gota Go Gama" tent village that sprang up last month and became the focal point of nationwide protests. Police used tear gas and water cannon to break up the confrontation.

-  The US on Monday (May 9) said that it is closely monitoring the volatile situation in Sri Lanka after the protestors burned the houses of Ministers."Closely monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka. We are deeply concerned by the violence against peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders, and are urging all Sri Lankans to focus on finding and enabling long-term solutions to the country`s economic and political challenges," tweeted the US State Department Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA).

 

- Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation. The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies, like the government's move last year to ban chemical fertilizers in a bid to make Sri Lanka's agriculture "100 per cent organic". Due to an acute shortage of foreign exchange, Sri Lanka recently defaulted on the entirety of its foreign debt amounting to about USD 51 billion.