Sri Lanka extends curfew after violence and prime minister’s resignation

Soldiers man a checkpoint outside the prime minister’s residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

Sri Lankan authorities have extended a curfew for another day as sporadic violence and arson continued – with pro-government mobs attacking peaceful protesters and security forces being ordered to shoot those causing injury and damage.

Nationwide protests have been calling for the resignations of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, who stepped down as prime minister this week, over a debt crisis that has nearly bankrupted Sri Lanka and left its people facing shortages of fuel, food and other essentials.