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March 28
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Protesters in Sri Lanka burned down the homes of 38 politicians as the crisis-hit country plunged further into chaos and the government ordered troops to shoot to kill.

The island nation's police said in addition to the burned houses, 75 houses were damaged as angry Sri Lankans continue to defy a nationwide curfew to protest the government's move to tackle the country's worst economic crisis since 1948.

The Defense Department on Tuesday ordered troops to shoot anyone who damages government property or attacks officials, after at least eight people have died in violence since Monday, though it's unclear if all of the deaths were directly related to the protests. More than 200 people were injured in the riots.

A nation of 22 million people is grappling with a devastating economic crisis, prices for everyday goods are skyrocketing, and there have been widespread power shortages for weeks. Since March, thousands of anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets demanding the government's resignation.

The military had to rescue the outgoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday. The military was called in after protesters tried twice at night to break into the prime minister's private residence Temple Trees, a senior security source told CNN.

Military forces were deployed to disperse protesters, and video footage shows police using tear gas and water cannons.

A nationwide curfew has been imposed until Thursday. However, it remains unclear whether a curfew and the resignation of the prime minister will be enough to contain the increasingly unstable situation in the country.

Many protesters say their ultimate goal is to force President Gotabai Rajapaksa, the prime minister's brother, to resign, which he has not done so far.

The President urged citizens to remain calm and stop violence and acts of revenge against citizens, regardless of political affiliation.

 The European Union condemned the recent brutal attack on peaceful demonstrators and called on the authorities to investigate.

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