Sri Lankan Army Denies Shooting at Protesters During Saturday Unrest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Sri Lankan army has denied that its soldiers opened fire at protesters who attempted to force their way into the president's residence in Colombo on July 9.

"The Army categorically denies having opened fire towards the protesters, but fired a few rounds to the air and the sidewalls of the main gate entrance to the President's House compound as a deterrent, aimed at preventing the entry of the protesters into the compound," the army said in a statement on Sunday, commenting on the circulated video clips claiming that troops fired at protesters.

The shooting in the air and sidewalls does not point to the military's intention to harm the protesters, the army added.

Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital, was rocked by mass protests last weekend, caused by public dissatisfaction with the government's inefficiency in fighting the economic crisis. Angry crowds tore through barricades surrounding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence, climbed over a fence and took control of the area. The president was evacuated. At least 100 people, including police officers and journalists, were injured as a result of the protests, local doctors said.

People crowd at presidential secretariat in Colombo on July 10, 2022, a day after it was overrun by anti-government protestors.

© Arun Sankar

Following the unrest, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called an emergency meeting of party leaders, who demanded that both the prime minister and president resign immediately and the parliament convene within one week to appoint an acting president. Parliament speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeiwardana was assigned to become the country's interim leader.

On Monday, Rajapaksa officially informed the prime minister of his intention to step down as president on July 13.

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