Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena greets his supporters during a rally at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka on Wednesday 10 January 2017. Tharaka Basnayaka | NurPhoto | Getty Images

A political crisis in Sri Lanka took a deadly turn on Sunday, with one person killed when a sacked cabinet minister tried to re-enter his office, days after the president removed the prime minister and installed a powerful ally of China in his place. Sri Lanka has been plunged into crisis since Friday, when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swore in ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister to replace him. Sirisena said the move was motivated by a plot to kill him, and by economic collapse. Wickremesinghe says it was illegal and he is still prime minister. Rajapaksa ruled as president from 2005-2015. In a statement released late on Sunday, he pledged to "eschew the politics of hate and set up an interim government that will protect the human rights of all citizens, that will protect the independence of the judiciary and establish law and order." He called on lawmakers to support his new government. On Saturday, Sirisena suspended parliament until Nov. 16, a move the ousted prime minister's supporters say was intended to prevent lawmakers from showing support for Wickremesinghe.

China has Sri Lanka in massive debt

The standoff has important geopolitical implications in a country long influenced by its neighbor India, and which became massively indebted to China to finance huge infrastructure projects during Rajapaksa's decade as president. Most of Sri Lanka's foreign allies including India, the European Union and the United States, have urged Sirisena to abide by the constitution. But China, long seen as a supporter of Rajapaksa, congratulated him on becoming prime minister, drawing accusations from Wickremesinghe's supporters that Beijing was behind the attempt to change the government. Chinese officials deny interfering in Sri Lanka's affairs.

This is an international conspiracy. Ranjan Ramanayake legislator, United National Party

The U.S. State Department on Sunday urged all sides to refrain from violence and called on Sirisena to immediately reconvene parliament and "allow the democratically elected representatives of the Sri Lankan people to fulfill their responsibility to affirm who will lead their government." Since Rajapaksa was sworn in, trade unions allied to him have blocked government buildings to prevent members of the former cabinet from reaching their offices. Sunday's violence took place at the headquarters of state oil company Ceylon Petroleum, where Arjuna Ranatunga, petroleum minister in the ousted cabinet, tried to re-enter his office. Police said one of Ranatunga's security guards opened fire. One person was killed and two wounded. The guard had been arrested and an investigation launched, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. Ranatunga was safe and the security guard's motive was not immediately clear, he added. Local media said Ranatunga had briefly been held hostage in the office. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm details of the incident. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called on the Sri Lankan government to respect democratic values and constitutional provisions and process, uphold the rule of law and ensure the safety and security of all Sri Lankans.

India: We hope democratic values will be respected