Sri Lanka crisis: Defence Ministry orders tri-forces to open fire on rioters
Colombo, May 10: Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence on Tuesday ordered the Army, the Air Force and the Navy personnel to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others amidst violent protests in the island nation over the unprecedented economic crisis.
The order came after embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged people to stop "violence and acts of revenge" against fellow citizens and vowed to address the political and economic crisis facing the nation.
The death toll rose to eight in the unprecedented violence that erupted after supporters of then prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked anti-government protesters here on Monday. Though Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, has quit as prime minister, this has failed to bring calm.
Nearly 250 people have been injured in the violence in Colombo and other parts of the country.
The Ministry of Defence has ordered the tri-forces to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others, the Daily Mirror newspaper quoted the Army Spokesman as saying.
A curfew is in force across the island nation after mobs burned down the ancestral home belonging to the ruling Rajapaksa family amid mounting anger at the worst economic crisis.
Anti-government protesters have also set up a checkpoint on the road leading to the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo to prevent the Rajapaksa family loyalists from fleeing the country.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.
The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
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LPG shortage in country; 1 crore people to be unemployed: Kejriwal
New Delhi (PTI): AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday slammed the Centre for 'heavy LPG shortage' affecting people across the country and questioned the prime minister's "support" for Israel and the US.
The former Delhi chief minister said, "There is a chance that almost 1 crore people would be unemployed because of the power shortage situation emerging," he said.
"There is a heavy shortage of LPG in the country. The reason behind this is that 90 per cent of the LPG imported in India is from the Strait of Hormuz. Restaurants and hotels are facing shortages. In the next two days, 50 per cent of hotels are on the verge of shutdown, news is coming from Delhi NCR, Bihar," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "demolishing" India's non-aligned foreign policy of several decades and making Iran our "enemy".
"PM Modi has made a mistake by demolishing India's non-aligned policy of 75 years. We should not have aligned with anyone. He stood by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day before the war began. We have made Iran our enemy," Kejriwal said.
Even during the Cold War times, India was following the non-aligned foreign policy, the AAP leader said.
