Sri Lankan police fired live ammunition to scatter protesters yesterday, killing one person and injuring a dozen more, as the country sought rapid financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ease a worsening economic crisis.

Demonstrations have raged across the South Asian country of 22 million people for weeks, voicing anger against the government's mishandling of the economy that has led to shortages of essentials and prolonged power cuts.

Mihiri Priyangani, director of the Kegalle Teaching Hospital...