A group of youth in Sri Lanka has blocked the entrance of their main international airport to prevent members of parliament (MPs) from leaving the country.
A Daily Mirror report said youths from the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ) blocked the entrance to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Sri Lanka witnessed a day of clashes on Monday that killed seven people and injured more than 200, in violence that prompted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.
As the Indian Ocean nation battles its worst economic crisis in history, thousands of protesters had defied curfew to attack government figures, setting ablaze homes, shops and businesses belonging to ruling party lawmakers and provincial politicians.
Sri Lanka's unprecedented economic crisis follows a pandemic that hit key tourism earnings, leaving the government grappling with rising oil prices and the impact of populist tax cuts.
It has sought assistance from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as Asian giants India and China.
Former finance minister Ali Sabry, who resigned on Monday, along with the rest of Rajapaksa's cabinet, has said useable foreign reserves stand at as little as $50 million.
Shortages of fuel, food and medicine have brought thousands onto the streets in more than a month of protests that had been mostly peaceful until this week.
