PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s home set on fire: A group of anti-government protesters torched Rajapaksa’s ancestral residence in Hambantota, hours after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s prime minister.
Video footage showed the house of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on fire at Medamulana in Hambantota city, according to the Daily Mirror. Earlier, the protesters destroyed several properties of ministers and MPs of the ruling coalition.
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Sri Lankan media also reported that the fire broke out near the back gate of ‘Temple Trees’, the official residence of the prime minister in Colombo. The report said police had called for vehicles to release water cannons, but anti-government protesters were attacking vehicles as well.
Earlier, a mob had set ablaze the houses of former minister Johnson Fernando and MP Sanath Nishant in Mount Lavinia area on Monday. Despite the curfew, thousands of crowds are seen on the streets of Colombo and demonstrations are being held against the government. A furious mob is targeting the supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa one by one.
The arson, attacks took place when a curfew was imposed in Colombo following violent clashes between supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa and anti-government protesters. Three people, including an MP of the ruling party, were killed and more than 150 people were injured in the violence in the capital.
Protests have been taking place since last month over rising prices and power cuts. Sri Lanka has been facing severe economic crisis after gaining independence from Britain in 1948.