Tense situation is Negombo where shops and vehicles torched#lka #SriLankaCrisis #Negombo pic.twitter.com/rz1wVSE0ri

The Defence Ministry has ordered Sri Lankan military forces to shoot anyone 'looting public property or causing harm to others'.

Protests across the South of the country turned violent yesterday as Pro-government supporters of the Rajapaksa regime and Anti-government protestors clashed. 

The statue of DA Rajapaksa located in Tangalle has been taken down by a group of demonstrators today.

DA Rajapaksa is a former MP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party member. He is also patriarch to the Rajapaksa family that have long dominated politics on the island, being the father to both Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

As many as 8 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after a bloody day of violence in Sri Lanka, which saw homes of parliamentarians torched and mobs roaming across the Sinhala south.

The violence began as regime supporters gathered at Temple Trees, the official residence of the Sri Lankan prime minister, to listen to Mahinda Rajapaksa deliver an address. After he spoke, pro-government crowds attacked protestors outside the residence, before marching to Galle Face and further assaulting protestors there. As opposition leader Sajith Premadasa arrived at Galle Face, he was also attacked by mobs.

Protests have erupted outside a Sri Lankan navy base in Trincomalee this morning, after reports that Mahinda Rajapaksa was evacuated from his official residence in Colombo to the heavily occupied Tamil North-East by the military.

The besieged former Sri Lankan prime minister who handed in his resignation just yesterday, faced a night of angry protests outside his residence at Temple Trees in the Southern capital. Amidst repeated rounds of tear gas and warning shots being fired by the security forces, Rajapaksa was reportedly evacuated this morning.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran has called for the arrest of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned from his post as Prime Minister earlier today following an outbreak of violence in Colombo. 

Mob attacks have broken out in Colombo today as anti-government protestors were attacked and security forces fired water cannons, with reports of further violence across the South of the island.

Armed troops have been deployed in Sri Lanka's capital with reports that pro-government supporters have also been attacked, as assaults were reported by both sides across the South

Watch | Vimukthi De Silva, an activist, recounts being attacked by the pro-Rajapaksa mob on Friday. “They asked me are you Tamil, and kicked me,” she says. - Reports @Meerasrini
Read the full story here: https://t.co/MttLvBVzfL pic.twitter.com/u6flZCnaRN

The war crimes-accused head of the Sri Lankan army called on the public to “think intelligently and act calmly” earlier today, after violence gripped the island with mob attacks across the South.

We are deeply concerned with the perpetration of violence in #SriLanka. Those responsible are only standing in the way of the country’s immediate economic recovery and making the task even more difficult for development partners.

Protestors still continue to clash outside the Prime Minster's residence as an island-wide curfew is declared across the island. 

Clashes between supporters of Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and anti-government demonstrators broke out in front of Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister, earlier this evening. 

The homes and vehicles of several prominent Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) politicians have been set alight as violence breaks out across Colombo.

Thus far, three people have died during the unrest and at least 100 injured. Sri Lanka’s military has been sent in to impose a state curfew.

A memorial constructed for D A Rajapaksa, the father of Mahinda and Gotabaya, has been destroyed.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the incident in Hambantota. 

Amarakeerthi Athikorala, a member of the government-aligned Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), is reportedly dead amidst the carnage unfolding in Colombo as supporters of the Rajapaksa regime clash with anti-government demonstrators.

Responding to mob violence against peaceful demonstrators in Colombo, western diplomats have issued stern condemnations and stressed the need to “hold the perpetrators of violence to account”.

The statement comes as military troops have taken to the streets and have used tear gas and water cannons.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung tweeted: