Shots fired from Sri Lanka PM’s residence

An AFP correspondent reported shots were fired from inside the Sri Lankan prime minister’s official mansion on Monday as thousands of protestors broke through the main gate and set fire to a parked truck.

Police also fired tear gas to push back protesters retaliating against an attack on them earlier in the day by those loyal to the outgoing premier Mahinda Rajapaksa.

According to police sources, bullets were fired in the air to prevent the mob from breaching the residence’s inner security ring, where Rajapaksa, who resigned as prime minister earlier in the day, was holed up with several followers.