Tensions flare in Vavuniya as fuel crisis worsens

Dozens of exacerbated locals staged an impromptu protest in Vavuniya on Sunday, with the Sri Lankan army deployed as tempers flared amidst a worsening fuel shortage and economic crisis on the island.

Sri Lankan soldiers were deployed in Vavuniya as locals who had been waiting in long queues for over the last four days at a petrol station along the A9, besieged a fuel bowser.

Amidst a heavy army and police presence, eventually a military official and a senior police superintendent agreed to release fuel for distribution to locals.

The scenes in Vavuniya come after soldiers opened fire in Mullaitivu on Saturday.