Sri Lankans flee Colombo as political leaders meet to seek solution to crisis

An army member stops vehicles at a checkpoint on the main road after the curfew was extended for another extra day following a clash between Anti-government demonstrators and Sri Lanka's ruling party supporters. [Reuters]

Many Sri Lankans thronged buses in the main city Colombo on Thursday to return to their hometowns with leaders of political parties due to meet after the prime minister quit and went into hiding and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa warned of anarchy.

The island nation off India's southern tip, which overlooks shipping routes between Europe and Asia, is battling its worst economic crisis since independence. Violence erupted on Monday after supporters of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president's elder brother, attacked an anti-government protest camp in Colombo.