Protest near Sri Lanka’s president home turns violent

Sri Lankan police imposed curfew and fired tear gas at demonstrators protesting dire food, fuel and power shortages outside the president's house.

Agitated protesters stormed through barricades, and were accused of setting fire to a bus on Thursday night. President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa blamed the events on “extremist elements”.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of a foreign exchange crisis that has crippled its economy, reports BBC.

Faced with 13-hour power cuts, a lack of fuel, essential food items and medicines, public anger has reached a new high.

The protest outside the President's house began peacefully, but participants say things turned violent after police fired tear gas, water cannons and also beat people present. A number have also been detained.

Protesters retaliated against the police by pelting them with stones.

The demonstrations mark a massive turnaround in popularity for Rajapaksa who swept into power with a majority win in 2019, promising stability and a “strong hand” to rule the country.