Shoot-on-sight order in Lanka as stir intensifies, ex-PM flees home

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s defence ministry ordered the military on Tuesday to shoot anyone caught attacking people or damaging property after violent clashes a day earlier singed the entire country and forced PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.
The death toll in the clashes rose to eight on Tuesday. Defying a 36-hour nationwide curfew, several hundred protesters intensified the stir, continuing to chant slogans against the government and attacking the homes of its supporters. Hundreds swarmed the entrance to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office demanding he follow in his brother’s footsteps and quit.
The ex-PM was evacuated from his official residence that was under seige and reportedly driven into a naval base in Trincomalee. As word spread, agitators launched a fresh stir outside the base.