Several persons have been admitted to hospital following injuries sustained during last night's protest near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence in Mirihana.
The injured include protesters, police personnel and several members of the media.
What started off as a peaceful protest near the President's residence last evening calling on him to resign later turned violent following confrontations with Police as some protesters tried to break down barricades to enter the lane where the President's house is situated.
Police, Special Task Force (STF) and military personnel were deployed to the area and tear gas and water cannon were fired several times to disperse protesters. The protest continued until the early hours of this morning.
Protesters allege that the confrontation occurred after police first deployed water cannon and tear gas to try and disperse them.
A bus was set alight during the violence and several properties were also damaged.
Police later imposed a curfew for the Colombo North, Colombo South, Colombo Central, Nugegoda, Kelaniya and Mount Lavinia police divisions until further notice. However, Police Spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nihal Thalduwa said earlier this morning that the curfew imposed for these areas has been lifted with effect from 5.00am today.
Pix by M.A. Pushpakumara
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