Sri Lanka crisis top developments: Curfew lifted in Rambukkana; India to provide additional $500 million for fuel

Sri Lankan authorities on Thursday lifted the curfew in the southwestern region of Rambukkana, where one person was killed and 13 others injured after the police opened fire on unarmed anti-government demonstrators. The incident sparked a wave of fresh protests across the country, which has been grappling with a severe economic crisis. 
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday said he was “deeply saddened” the incident, and pledged an impartial and transparent inquiry. “Sri Lankan citizens’ right to peacefully protest won’t be hindered,” he tweeted. 
For weeks, the island nation has witnessed widespread protests against the government’s handling of the ongoing economic crisis, which has resulted in acute shortages of fuel and other essentials. 
Sri Lanka economic crisis: here are the top developments today
🔴 Sri Lankan police will launch an “impartial and transparent” investigation into the clashes that broke out between security personnel and protestors in Rambukkana on Wednesday. The police opened fire after protestors blocked a railway line and stopped a fuel tanker attempting to cross it. 
🔴 India is set to provide an additional $500 million in financial assance to Sri Lanka for it to buy fuel, news agency Reuters reported.
🔴 Sri Lankan Foreign Miner G L Peiris said Bangladesh is willing to postpone $450 million in swap repayments.
🔴 In a massive blog to President Rajapaksa, three more parliamentarians withdrew their support to the government. Earlier this month, 39 out of 156 MPs withdrew their support to Rajapaksa in the 225-member Parliament. This comes at a time when the president is facing widespread pressure to resign. The breakaway group, which sits independently, has declared not to align with any other coalition, including the Opposition, PTI reported. 
🔴 The curfew imposed after the violent clashes in Rambukkana was lifted at 5 am on Thursday. At least three of the 14 hospitalised protesters at Rambukkana, some 90 kilometres northeast of Colombo, were critical at the Kegalle hospital, according to a PTI report. “We have requested the Human Rights Commission to conduct an impartial inquiry. We want to be honest and we do not want to sweep anything under the carpet,” Foreign Miner Peiris said. 
🔴 The massive debt crisis in Sri Lanka was one of the main topics of discussion among the global financial leaders attending the  annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, PTI reported. 
“It’s vital and we know what the data shows: a huge buildup of debt, especially in the poorest countries. It’s important that the resolution process starts early. If you wait, the resolutions are much more difficult to carry out. Sri Lanka is facing that problem now,” World Bank President David Malpass said.