Sri Lanka lifts curfew imposed after violent protests over the country’s worst economic crisis

Police have lifted an overnight curfew imposed in several parts of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo after violent protests broke out over the government’s handling of the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. On March 31, 2022, police fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of protesters gathered at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence. In response, some demonstrators dismantled a wall and hurled bricks at officers before setting a bus alight on a road leading to Rajapaksa’s residence. Dozens of people have been arrested and several police officers were injured.