SRI Lanka’s military opened fire to contain rioting at a fuel station, said officials today, as unprecedented queues for diesel and petrol are reported across the bankrupt country.

Troops fired in Visuvamadu, 365km north of Colombo, as their guard point was pelted with stones last night, said army spokesman Nilantha Premaratne.

“A group of 20 to 30 people pelted stones and damaged an army truck.”

Police said four civilians and three soldiers were wounded when the army opened fire for the first time to quell unrest linked to the worsening economic crisis.

They said as the pump ran out of petrol, motorists started to protest and the situation escalated into a clash with troops.

Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since independence, with the country unable to find dollars to import essentials, including food, fuel and medicines.

Its 22 million population is enduring acute shortages and long queues for scarce supplies, while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for months resisted calls to step down over mismanagement.

Sri Lanka deployed armed police and troops to guard fuel stations.

Police shot dead a motorist at the central town of Rambukkana in April, when a clash erupted over the distribution of rationed diesel and petrol.

Police said clashes involving motorists erupted at three locations over the weekend. At least six constables were wounded in one clash, while seven motorists were arrested.

The government declared a two-week shutdown of state institutions and schools in a bid to reduce commuting and conserve depleting fuel stocks in the impoverished nation.

Sri Lanka is also facing record high inflation and lengthy power blackouts, all of which have contributed to months of protests.

Four out of five people in the country have started skipping meals as they cannot afford to eat, said the United Nations, warning of a looming “dire humanitarian crisis” with millions in need of aid.

The World Food Programme started distributing food vouchers to about 2,000 pregnant women in the “underserved” areas in Colombo as part of “life-saving assistance” on Thursday.

It is trying to raise US$60 million (RM264 million) for a food relief effort between June and December.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its US$51 billion foreign debt in April, and is in talks for a bailout with the International Monetary Fund. – AFP, June 19, 2022.