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US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Monday condemned the violence against protestors in the island country, and called on the government to conduct a full investigation.
This comes after protesters held a demonstration opposite the Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister. Pro-government demonstrators clashed with anti-government protesters near the Temple Trees, leading to the injury of dozens of people. "We condemn the violence against peaceful protestors today, and call on the government to conduct a full investigation, including the arrest and prosecution of anyone who incited violence. Our sympathies are with those injured today and we urge calm and restraint across the island," Julie Chung tweeted. A few hours after the reports of the clashes emerged, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation. "Effective immediately I have tendered my resignation as Prime Minister to the President," Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a tweet. Following Mahinda's resignation, several cabinet ministers including the health minister also tendered their resignations, according to media reports. After tensions arose due to clashes between protesters in the capital Colombo, a curfew was imposed by the police in Sri Lanka on Monday. As protests intensified in the country, Sri Lankan authorities deployed the Army to ensure the security of the general public. On Friday, President Gotbaya Rajapaksa in a special meeting had requested the Prime Minister to step down as a solution to the ongoing political crisis in the country, Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror reported. After Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation, President Rajapaksa is expected to invite all the political parties in Parliament to form an all-party Cabinet. Earlier, the opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) confirmed that its leader Sajith Premadasa will not accept the PM's post in an interim government. (ANI)
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