Sri Lankan MP Amarakirthi Athukorala has shot dead an anti-government protester.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The incident took place during a clash between anti-government protesters and Mahinda Rajapaksa supporters in the capital, Colombo, on Monday. The Times of India quoted the country’s police as saying.
The Times of India reported that protesters surrounded the MP’s car in the Nitambuwa area of Colombo during the clashes. The MP fired at the protesters. Two protesters were seriously injured. One of the two protesters was later killed.
A Sri Lankan police official told the AFP news agency that the MP had fled the scene and taken refuge in a nearby building. Later, as thousands of protesters surrounded the building, the MP shot himself with his pistol.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Colombo National Hospital said at least 137 people had been admitted to the hospital injured in the clashes.
Official sources say he has resigned as protests in Sri Lanka escalate into violence over the economic crisis. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister had sent his resignation letter to the president.
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s spokesman Rohan Velivita says the country, which gained independence from British rule in 1947, submitted its resignation to eight-year-old Mahinda Rajapaksa to deal with the worst economic crisis in history. He resigned at the request of the president to pave the way for a “new consensus government” to deal with the economic crisis.
