The Sri Lanka police on Tuesday shot dead one man and wounded as many as 10 others, news agency AFP reported, quoting officials. It is reported that this is the first killing of a protester in weeks of anti-government demonstrations over the island’s crisis.

AFP reported that the police used live ammunition against a group who were blocking a highway in Rambukkana to protest acute oil shortages and high prices, hospital and police.

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The Sri Lankan media reported that videos surfacing from the ground showed protestors carrying the wounded and rushing them to the hospital, with one protestor alleging that the police were to blame for it.

The protesters have now surrounded the Rambukkana Police Station and are hurling stones at the building.

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It can be seen that Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with severe shortages of essential goods.

The island nation has witnessed massive agitations demanding the resignation of the government, which is preparing to negotiate an urgently needed bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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In Colombo, a large crowd of protesters have maintained a camp outside the seafront office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for more than a week, demanding the leader step down.

The protest was one of many spontaneous gatherings staged around Sri Lanka on Tuesday, after the country’s main petrol retailer hiked prices by nearly 65%.

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Several motorists in various parts of Sri Lanka blocked arterial roads with mounds of burning tyres to condemn the move.