[Global Times Special Correspondent Wang Yiyi in Sri Lanka] On the evening of the 9th local time, the Secretariat of the President of Sri Lanka issued a communiqué confirming that Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka with immediate effect.
On the same day, Mahinda supporters clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital Colombo.
The death toll from the clashes rose to seven, including two lawmakers.
In order to quell the riots, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense even issued a "spot shooting order" on the 10th.
The "Indian Express" reported on the 10th that "the departure of brother Mahinda has made the road of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa more difficult".
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has invited all political parties to form a government of national unity to address current socio-economic and political issues following Mahinda's resignation, local media reported.
The "Indian Express" said on the 10th that the leader of the main opposition party, the United National Forces, Sajit Premadasa has made it clear that he does not want to form a government jointly with the current ruling Popular Front Party (SLPP) and does not want to be responsible to the president.
At noon on the 9th, Mahinda's supporters violently attacked the main anti-government protest site in Colombo. The police subsequently imposed a nationwide curfew, but the anti-government protesters immediately set off protests and violent revenge across the country, and the chaos continued until late at night.
Anti-government protesters also stormed the homes of dozens of MPs and politicians from the ruling party, including the Prime Minister's Office. Several MPs' homes were set on fire by angry protesters, as were some offices of the ruling party.
According to the latest report of the local media "Daily Mirror", as of now, more than 210 people in the capital Colombo have been injured in the violence and have been sent to the Colombo National Hospital.
According to Agence France-Presse, the Sri Lankan police said that MP Amalgilti Atukorele was confronted by a crowd of protesters on the outskirts of the capital Colombo and shot and wounded two protesters, one of whom died of his injuries.
"The congressman fled the scene and took refuge in a nearby building. Thousands of people surrounded the building before he committed suicide with a revolver," a police official said.
On the 10th, the whole country of Sri Lanka was under a curfew.
A reporter from the Global Times walked on the streets of Colombo and found that social order had basically returned to normal, but there were few cars and pedestrians on the road, and police and soldiers were deployed at important intersections to conduct inspections.
In front of the Prime Minister's Office, the traces of the riots on the 9th have been initially cleaned up, and no protesters have gathered here.
In addition, the "Global Times" reporter also noticed that the US embassy opposite the Prime Minister's Office was not spared, and the temporary enclosure in its outer part was damaged. The police officer on duty at the scene said that it was destroyed during the riot on the afternoon of the 9th. .