At least seven people have died and hundreds have been injured in an unprecedented wave of violence in Sri Lanka amid a deepening economic crisis and the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa along with his entire government.

The country of 22 million is under an indefinite curfew, and the army and police are given broad additional powers, including detaining and interrogating people without an arrest warrant, and searching private property and cars.

After the news of Rajapaksa’s resignation became known, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate this event, but very soon the celebrations turned into violence.

Protesters began to attack government officials, set fire to houses, shops and company buildings belonging to members of the ruling party or their relatives.

The attacks appear to have been in retaliation for Mahinda Rajapaksa’s speech to hundreds of his supporters when word of his possible resignation emerged on Monday.

After his speech, many of them, armed with iron bars, stormed the anti-government protesters’ camp, beating people and setting fire to their tents.

According to eyewitnesses, the police initially took no action against government supporters, but then used water cannons and tear gas.

When one of the lawmakers from the ruling party, who was trying to leave Colombo, opened fire on the crowd surrounding his car, killing two and injuring three people, it infuriated people.

Later, the police said that the politician committed suicide, but the ruling party says that he was torn to pieces by the mob along with his bodyguard.

As a result of the ensuing pogroms, more than 40 houses of members of the ruling party were burned, as well as hundreds of cars and motorcycles, the house of the personal shaman of the president (and the brother of the prime minister) Gotabai Rajapaksa, the local headquarters of their party, was destroyed. Even the wax statues of the parents of the prime minister and the president, kept in the house-museum, were not spared.

In the lake near the residence of the Prime Minister Temple Trees, protesters pushed the buses on which Rajapaksa supporters were brought to the capital, and people who were suspected of being loyal to the government were also pushed there.

The crowd stormed the gates of the residence and set fire to police cars that blocked the entrance, but Rajdapaksa himself was evacuated from there in advance.

Even the American embassy, which is located across the street from the Prime Minister’s office, got it – several tear grenades flew there, but no one was injured.

The unrest subsided a little only on Tuesday morning. However, the entire area in front of Temple Trees and the surrounding streets are littered with broken glass and abandoned shoes. Now this territory is controlled by military patrols.

The reason for the dissatisfaction of the population was the economic crisis in the country, which worsened against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, in which residents blame only the ruling party, led by the Rajapaksa family clan.

Former finance minister Ali Sabri, who along with the rest of the cabinet resigned on Monday, said the country’s available foreign exchange reserves are only $50 million.

Fuel, food and medical shortages have forced people to take to the streets, but the protests, which have been going on for more than a month, have so far been mostly peaceful.

The country is currently negotiating a transitional government that would include all parties, but the protesters intend to seek the resignation of President Gotabai Rajapaksa.