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. Violence erupted in Sri Lanka on Monday after supporters of then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country’s worst economic crisis that led to acute shortages of staple food, fuel and power.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, resigned as Prime Minister on Monday amid unprecedented economic turmoil, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters, prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy Army troops in the capital. A protest started in front of the Trincomalee Naval Base after reports Mahinda Rajapaksa and some of his family members are there after leaving Temple Trees, the official residence of prime minister, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported. On Monday, the violence saw arson attacks on the homes of several politicians, including the ancestral home of the Rajapaksas in Hambantota. Video footage showed the entire house of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Medamulana in Hambantota city was burning.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka on Wednesday dismissed media reports that New Delhi could send troops to the island nation to deal with turmoil triggered by its economic crisis. The denial from the Indian mission came a day after it refuted as ‘fake and blatantly false’ local social media speculation that former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family members have fled to India. The High Commission tweeted on Wednesday that reports that India could send troops were ‘not in keeping with the position of the Government of India’. On Tuesday, former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy tweeted that the Indian Army must be sent to Sri Lanka to stabilise the country. He wrote ‘India must send in the Indian Army to restore Constitutional sanity. At present anti Indian foreign forces are taking advantage of people’s anger. This affects India’s national security.’