Former Sri Lankan Army Commander and accused war criminal, Sarath Fonseka, joined the protests on Saturday and claimed that Sri Lankan armed forces wanted “to see this struggle win”.

Yesterday, the members of the security forces wanted to see this struggle win - says MP Sarath Fonseka, who joined the struggle today #lka pic.twitter.com/RmpMWiyIJb

Responding to the burning of his private residence, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has decried the actions of protesters as comparable to Hitler in a special statement.

"I had [paintings, Buddha statues and artworks], now nothing is left. They have been completely destroyed. Only Hitlerists would do things like that. There is background for that".

Sources have told the BBC that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is stationed on a navy vessel in Sri Lankan waters whilst a lawmaker claimed he is in a "nearby country", after being escorted from his home before protesters occupied his residence this weekend.

UK police have arrested a man at Luton airport last week on suspicion of being a member of and supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which remains a proscribed organisation in Britain.

Few details have been released by British authorities who only confirmed that the man is in his 30s and was initially stopped by officers under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act (TACT), 2000 at Luton Airport as he arrived in the country.

He was taken to a local police station and reportedly released under investigation.

Speaking to the Hindu, Tamil National Alliance MP, MA Sumanthiran, maintained that support for an interim all-party government would be conditional on meeting certain demands.

“We have been consulted and the SJB has invited us. We have asked them to go ahead with a new government if they have the numbers. However, if they need our support, we said will then talk about the conditions on which we might be able to support them,” Sumanthiran stated.

Responding to mass unrest in Colombo, which saw the burning of the Prime Minister’s house, the International Monetary Fund has raised deep concerns over the crisis whilst stressing the need for a resolution that will “allow for the resumption of our dialogue on an IMF-supported program”.

Responding to mass demonstrations in Colombo and continued calls for Sri Lanka’s President to resign, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Subramanian Swamy demands that India’s military be prepared to support the Rajapaksas.

On Twitter he stated:

both Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksha were elected in a free election with thumping majority. How can India allow a mob to overturn such a legitimate election? Then no democratic country in our neighbourhood will be safe. If Rajapaksa wants India’s military help we must give

A statement from the Sri Lankan army admitted that soldiers opened fire during Saturday’s protest, after video clips of the shootings were widely shared, but denied there was any “intent on causing deliberate harm to the protesters”.

In a statement entitled ‘The army sets the record straight about Saturday firing’, the military said its attention “has been drawn to a few video clips going viral”.

The Church of St Peter in Navaly commemorated over 140 Tamil civilians that were killed in its premises by Sri Lankan Air Force bombs 27 years ago.

Following the breach of the Presidential residence yesterday, a video has circulated showing protesters recovering an estimated Rs. 17,850,000 in the President's residence.