Sri Lanka in chaos over anti-government protests, former prime minister rescued

An increasingly tense situation in

where a crowd of people has besieged the naval base of Trincomalee, in the north east of the island, after the spread of the rumor that the

, had taken refuge there and was about to flee the country by sea, together with some relatives.

The Colombo Daily Mirror newspaper, which broke the news, adds that the former premier's family home in Kurunegala was set on fire, as well as the monument honoring DA Rajapaksa, father of the former premier and president Gotabaya in Medamulana.

throughout the island , despite the state of emergency and the curfew

.

The number two of the Sri Lankan police, Inspector General Deshabandu Tennakoon, ended up in hospital after his car was set on fire by a crowd near the prime minister's official residence in Colombo.

Agencies report that policemen had to shoot in the air to disperse the crowd.

At dawn today, a group of anti-government activists blocked the entrance to Bandaranaike International Airport, 35 km from the capital, to prevent pro-government politicians from leaving Sri Lanka.

The cause of the protests

In Sri Lanka there is a

which has led to shortages of food, fuel and medicine;

the situation was also aggravated by the pandemic and by the increase in the prices of raw materials and energy.

In the recent violent clashes between government supporters and demonstrators, who had been camped outside the prime minister's office for weeks, five people were killed and nearly 200 injured.