COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana today requested that embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa convene the House as soon as possible to discuss the current situation, which includes unprecedented violence and widespread protest against the government over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, a media report said.

According to Serjeant-at-Arms Narenda Fernando of the Daily Mirror, the Speaker has the authority to call the House solely to discuss the current problem.

The House is expected to be resolved on Tuesday, or any other day this week, according to reports.

The death toll in Sri Lanka’s unprecedented violence rose to eight on Tuesday, after supporters of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country’s worst economic crisis, which has resulted in severe shortages of staple foods, fuel, and electricity.

In addition, the violence in Colombo and other cities has harmed over 200 individuals.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 76-year-old Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, resigned yesterday under unprecedented economic upheaval, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protestors, causing authorities to impose a statewide curfew and deploy army forces in the city.

The violence included arson attacks on the homes of several politicians, including the Rajapaksas’ ancestral home in Hambantota.

Opposition politicians have called for Mahinda Rajapaksa’s arrest for inciting violence against peaceful anti-government protesters.

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