Sri Lanka protests heat up after protesters try to storm President Rajapaksa's house, here's top highlights

The island nation Sri Lanka is witnessing protests over the government's handling of the country's economic crisis, which is said to be the worst since independence. The protests escalated on Thursday after several protesters made an attempt to storm the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo, calling for his resignation.

Police made use of tear gas and water cannons to pacify the sit-ins. While Rajapaksa was not at his residence at the time of protests, a video uploaded on social media displayed men and women clamouring "lunatic, lunatic go home" and demanding that members of the Rajapaksa family step down, reported news agency AFP.

Here are the top five highlights from the protests:

1) Diesel, which the main fuel for buses and commercial cars -- was not available at stations across the island nation on Thursday, as per officials and media reports -- disabling public transport. Proprietors of private buses -- which account for two-thirds of Sir Lanka's transport -- said they were already out of oil and that even minimal services might not be viable after Friday.

2) The state electricity consortium said it had imposed a 12-hour power cut from Thursday -- the longest ever -- because they did not have fuel for generators. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said, "areas in the 20 power zones from 'A' to 'S' will experience a power disruption of 12 hours on four occasions from 4.00 am (local time) to midnight subject to a maximum of four hours for each interruption".

3) A time limit initiated overnight was revoked early Friday morning, but police and military presence was augmented in and around the city, where the burnt wreckage of a bus was still blocking the road to President’s residence.

4) As many as ten people, which includes journalists, were injured following protests outside the residence of the Sri Lankan President. Citing Daily Mirror, ANI reported that six people had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital after sustaining injuries following clashes between protestors and police in Mirihana, while another four patients were admitted to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital in Kalubowila.

5) Another report in AP said at least one person was severely hurt in the leg when police fired tear gas cannisters directly at protesters to halt their offensive on the bus.

6) During the protest, security forces fired into the crowd and used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the demonstrators. It was not immediately clear if they used live rounds or rubber bullets.

7) Security forces have also been deployed across the island nation’s capital on Friday after protesters tried to storm the president's house in rage at the nation's worst economic crisis.

8) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will start discussions with Sri Lankan authorities on a possible loan program in days to come, as the country seeks to avert a severe economic crisis.

9) Sri Lanka's plight was aggravated by the Covid pandemic. Many economists also blame government mismanagement including tax cuts and years of budget deficits. Sri Lanka imposed a broad import ban in March 2020 in a bid to save foreign currency needed to service its $51 billion in debt. The government has said it is looking for a bailout from the IMF while asking for more loans from India and China.

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