Fearing threat to his life, former prime minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa took shelter at a naval base in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan news agency Newscutter in a report said that Mahinda Rajapaksa and some of his family members are holed up in Trincomalee Naval Base.
It also said that anti-government protesters after receiving reports that the senior
Rajapaksa is holed up there have gathered in front of the naval base and are protesting against the Rajapaksas.
A separate report also said that the entrance to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) has been blocked to prevent MPs from leaving the country.
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused by the masses of creating the rot in Sri Lanka’s economy which has led to the crippling crisis which has left citizens on the streets without food, fuel and essential medicines baying for blood.
Ahead of his resignation, Yoshitha Rajapaksa and his wife also departed for an undisclosed location on Monday.
Rajapaksa tendered his resignation on Monday after protests but following his resignation clashes broke out between Mahinda’s supporters and anti-government protesters across Colombo, including on the protest site at Galle Face.
The protesters took matters into their own hands after they set houses of several lawmakers ablaze in order to vent their frustration towards the government and its handling of the current economic crisis.
More than 41 homes of ruling party members along with the ancestral homes of Rajapaksas were set on fire by protesters. More than five people were wounded and more than 230 people injured during Monday’s clashes.
Lawmaker Amarakeerthi Athukorala shot three people, killing one of them and then died by suicide after he shot himself.
Sajith Premadasa and other opposition MPs have asked the protesters to show restraint and continue protesting peacefully.
“We are very capable of defending ourselves against state sponsored violence but we must not forget we are also capable of compassion.The future generations are watching how we choose to express our anger. Non-violence is the only true and acceptable path,” Premadasa tweeted on Monday.
The Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department will conduct a probe to investigate the Monday clashes between Rajapaksa supporters and anti-government protesters.
The inspector general of police CD Wickramaratne confirmed that it was the Rajapaksa supporters who attacked the anti-government protesters.
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