Lankan political crisis turns violent: One dead

COLOMBO, Oct 28 (AFP): One man died and two others were injured when shots were fired Sunday in Sri Lanka, as a constitutional crisis over the shock sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe turned violent.

Bodyguards for Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga fired five rounds as a mob loyal to Sri Lanka's president besieged the cabinet member in his office, police said.

One of those shot in the melee, a 34-year-old man, died shortly after being admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, spokeswoman Pushpa Soysa said.

It was the first report of serious violence since Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe on Friday and installed former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse as the new prime minister, triggering political chaos.

Wickremesinghe has refused to vacate the prime minister's official residence since being controversially deposed, declaring his dismissal illegal and demanding an emergency session of parliament to prove he still commands a majority.

Over 1,000 supporters and loyalists, including chanting Buddhist monks, massed outside the colonial-era residence in Colombo where a defiant Wickremesinghe has been holding crisis talks with allies. Elsewhere his successor Mahinda Rajapakse, a former president, sought blessings at a temple ahead of naming a new cabinet, as he jostles to consolidate his claim to the prime ministership.