COLOMBO: Fresh protests erupted in Sri Lanka's capital on Tuesday, defying a government curfew after five people died in the worst violence in weeks of demonstrations over a dire economic crisis.
Demonstrators showed no sign they would back down, even after scores were injured when government supporters were bussed into Colombo on Monday, and attacked protesters with sticks and clubs.
As outrage over the incident soared, prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned -- but even that has failed to calm public anger, with his brother Gotabaya still president with widespread powers and command over the security forces.
Thousands of angry protesters stormed Mahinda's official residence overnight, and the former premier had to be rescued in a pre-dawn military operation on Tuesday, firing tear gas and warning shots.
"At least 10 petrol bombs were thrown into the compound," a top security official said. A protester Chamal Polwattage said: "More people are coming to the demonstration site after the emergency and curfews.
"People are angry about the attacks launched against us yesterday. Despite the curfew since yesterday afternoon, we have a lot of volunteers bringing food and water for us," the 25-year-old said. "We will not go until the president goes," he added.
The Rajapaksa clan's hold on power has been shaken by months of blackouts and shortages in Sri Lanka, the worst economic crisis since it became independent in 1948.
But Monday's attacks on the protests represented a turning point after weeks of peaceful demonstrations.
"We were hit, the media were hit, women and children were hit," one witness said, asking not to be named.
On Monday, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds and declared an immediate curfew in Colombo, a measure later widened to include the entire South Asian nation of 22 million people.
Authorities said the curfew will be lifted on Wednesday morning, with government and private offices, as well as shops and schools, ordered to remain shut on Tuesday.
Police and the local human rights commission said they have started separate investigations into Monday's violence.
"Arrest those responsible for instigating violence irrespective of their political standing," police chief Chandana Wickramaratne said in an order.
The United Nations condemned the escalating violence, with human rights chief Michelle Bachelet calling on the authorities to prevent further unrest.
"I am deeply troubled by the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka after supporters of the prime minister attacked peaceful protesters in Colombo yesterday May 9 and the subsequent mob violence against members of the ruling party," Bachelet said in a statement on Tuesday. Despite the curfew, there were flare-ups of violence in Colombo and around the country, against both protesters and government supporters.
Angry crowds set alight the homes of at least 41 pro-Rajapaksa politicians, along with some vehicles, while buses and trucks used by the government loyalists were also targeted.
Several Rajapaksa homes were torched in different parts of the country, while a family museum in their ancestral village was trashed including life-size wax figures of their parents.
Outside Colombo, ruling party lawmaker Amarakeerthi Athukorala shot two people -- killing a 27-year-old man -- after being surrounded by a crowd of anti-government protesters, police said. "He then took his own life with his revolver," a police official said by phone.
Athukorala's bodyguard was also found dead at the scene, police said. - AFP
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