蜜芽传媒

Since last month Sri Lanka has been gripped by escalating demonstrations over soaring prices and power cuts.

On Monday, some protesters breached the gates of the prime minister's official residence, hours after the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa handed his resignation to the president, his brother, Gotabaya.

Angry mobs have also burned down several homes belonging to the ruling Rajapaksas and MPs.

At least seven people have died and more than 190 have been injured in violent clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators.

But how Sri Lanka pulls itself out of the worst economic crisis it has faced since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, is a huge concern.

Ahilan Kadirgamar is a political economist from the University of Jaffna in the north of the country and warns Sri Lanka could be "facing starvation or famine conditions" in the coming years.

(Pic: Army soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint near the Prime Ministers official residence. Credit: Reuters)