Sri Lankan police opened fire Tuesday at a group of people protesting new fuel price increases, killing one and injuring 10 others, in the first shooting by security forces during weeks of demonstrations over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Police confirmed that they shot at the protesters in Rambukkana, 90 kilometers northeast of Colombo, the capital. Police spokesman Nihal Talduwa said the demonstrators were blocking railway tracks and roads and had ignored police warnings to disperse.
Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly $7 billion of its total $25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods. People have endured months of shortages of essentials such as food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine, lining up for hours to buy the very limited stocks available. Thousands of protesters continued to occupy the entrance to the president’s office for an 11th day Tuesday, blaming him for the economic crisis. Sri Lanka’s prime minister said Tuesday that the constitution will be changed to clip presidential powers and empower Parliament, as protesters continued to demand that the president and his powerful family quit.
Read more here.
