SAA event in Southern Province, Weeraketiyain Hambantota District area, Sri Lanka on Mon 9th May 2022

Five persons, including one ruling party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)’s Member of Parliament (MP), Amarakeerthi Athukorala, were killed and 200 other protestors injured, during violent clashes between his supporters and anti-Government protesters in the southern town of Weeraketiyain Hambantota District in Southern Province of Sri Lanka on May 9, reports News 18. A group of people surrounded the vehicle of MP Amarakeerthi when it was passing Nittambuwa and tried to assault him and there was a shooting during the attack, in which the MP and his driver were killed and six other persons sustained injuries. On May 9, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned in response to the mounting demand for his ouster from the post due to the ongoing economic crisis that resulted in the violent clashes between the supporters and anti-Government protesters. “I am resigning with immediate effect so that you will be able to appoint an all-party government to guide the country out of the current economic crisis," the Prime Minister said in a letter sent to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Over the past two months, anti-Government protesters at Galle Face in Colombo have demanded that the former president tender his resignation for his role in the current crisis.