Alasdair Pa and Uditha Jasinghe

COLOMBO (Reuters). Thousands of Sri Lankans crowded into buses in Colombo to catch a bus to get back to their homes with political leaders.

After authorities lifted the indefinite curfew at 7 AM (0130 GMT), hundreds of people packed the bus station in the capital’s commercial center. After 2 pm, authorities will reimpose the curfew.

An attack on a anti-government protest group in Colombo by Mahinda Rajapaksa (the president’s elder brother) earlier this week left the island nation facing its worst economic crisis ever since independence.

There were days of violence against Rajapaksa clan officials. Police said that 9 people died and over 300 were injured in the fighting.

Protesters spray-painted graffiti all over Mahindarajapaksa’s house in southern India and ransacked the museum that had been dedicated to Rajapaksa. Protesters have promised to carry on the violence until the president quits.

Mahindarajapaksa, who resigned after fighting broke out in his country’s northeast corner of the nation, is now hiding from the authorities at an army base. On Wednesday, his brother stated that he would appoint a prime minister and a cabinet to the country this week in order “to stop the country falling into anarchy” as well as maintain current affairs.

While streets were still quiet in Colombo’s main city, some residents ventured to the shops for essential goods. The speaker of the national parliament met leaders from political parties later in the day to discuss current events.

While President Rajapaksa calls for a unity government in order to solve the crisis, the opposition leaders insist that they will not be allowed to serve until Rajapaksa steps down as a result of his handling of it.

The pandemic, rising oil costs, and tax cuts implemented by Rajapaksa, the populist Rajapaksa government are causing the nation’s worst financial crisis since 1948, when it was independent.

The country’s foreign reserves are now at $50 million. Inflation is high and fuel shortages have pushed thousands to the streets. This has been more than one month of protests against government policies, which had otherwise been peaceful up until Monday.

On Wednesday, the governor of Sri Lanka’s central banks said that if he fails to solve the crisis within the next week to two weeks, there would be power cuts up to 10-12 hours each day and his resignation.