The Indian High Commission to Sri Lanka has denied rumours circulating that "political persons", namely the Rajapaksas, have fled to India as theh island plunges into further turmoil. 

The High Commission dismissed rumours that have been circulating on social media claiming that Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family "had fled to India in a helicopter sent by the Indian government". 

Reacting to the rumours, the High Commission tweeted that "these are fake and blatantly false reports, devoid of any truth or substance and that the Commission "strongly denies" them.

UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet called on Sri Lanka to "prevent further violence, and urged restraint and meaningful dialogue" to address the worsening violence on the island. 

The human rights chief said she was "deeply troubled" by the violence that broke out yesterday between pro and anti- government supporters. 

Amidst growing alarm over continued militarisation, the 51 Division of Sri Lanka’s army opened a Park in Kopay, Jaffna on Sunday as part of the military’s “Army Way Forward Strategy-2020-2025”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned of "further deadly violence and other abuses" following the attacks by pro-government supporters on protesters who were camped out on Galle Face Green demanding the resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 

In a statement, HRW's South Asia Director, Meenakshi Ganguly, said:

The office of at least two Sri Lankan government aligned politicians have been vandalised in the North-East earlier today, in the first signs of the recent anti-government unrest spreading to the Tamil homeland.

In Mannipay, a hoarding outside the office of SLFP parliamentarian Angajan Ramanathan has reportedly been set ablaze.

Tense situation is Negombo where shops and vehicles torched#lka #SriLankaCrisis #Negombo pic.twitter.com/rz1wVSE0ri

The Defence Ministry has ordered Sri Lankan military forces to shoot anyone 'looting public property or causing harm to others'.

Protests across the South of the country turned violent yesterday as Pro-government supporters of the Rajapaksa regime and Anti-government protestors clashed. 

The statue of DA Rajapaksa located in Tangalle has been taken down by a group of demonstrators today.

DA Rajapaksa is a former MP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party member. He is also patriarch to the Rajapaksa family that have long dominated politics on the island, being the father to both Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

As many as 8 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after a bloody day of violence in Sri Lanka, which saw homes of parliamentarians torched and mobs roaming across the Sinhala south.

The violence began as regime supporters gathered at Temple Trees, the official residence of the Sri Lankan prime minister, to listen to Mahinda Rajapaksa deliver an address. After he spoke, pro-government crowds attacked protestors outside the residence, before marching to Galle Face and further assaulting protestors there. As opposition leader Sajith Premadasa arrived at Galle Face, he was also attacked by mobs.

Protests have erupted outside a Sri Lankan navy base in Trincomalee this morning, after reports that Mahinda Rajapaksa was evacuated from his official residence in Colombo to the heavily occupied Tamil North-East by the military.

The besieged former Sri Lankan prime minister who handed in his resignation just yesterday, faced a night of angry protests outside his residence at Temple Trees in the Southern capital. Amidst repeated rounds of tear gas and warning shots being fired by the security forces, Rajapaksa was reportedly evacuated this morning.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran has called for the arrest of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned from his post as Prime Minister earlier today following an outbreak of violence in Colombo. 

Mob attacks have broken out in Colombo today as anti-government protestors were attacked and security forces fired water cannons, with reports of further violence across the South of the island.

Armed troops have been deployed in Sri Lanka's capital with reports that pro-government supporters have also been attacked, as assaults were reported by both sides across the South

Watch | Vimukthi De Silva, an activist, recounts being attacked by the pro-Rajapaksa mob on Friday. “They asked me are you Tamil, and kicked me,” she says. - Reports @Meerasrini
Read the full story here: https://t.co/MttLvBVzfL pic.twitter.com/u6flZCnaRN

The war crimes-accused head of the Sri Lankan army called on the public to “think intelligently and act calmly” earlier today, after violence gripped the island with mob attacks across the South.