Sri Lanka, mired in a serious economic and political crisis, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, hours after its president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, the prime minister’s office announced.
“As the president has left the country, an emergency has been declared to deal with the situation in the country,” the prime minister’s spokesman, Dinouk Colombage, told Agence France-Presse. The police announced an indefinite curfew in the western province, that of the capital Colombo, to contain the demonstrations.
Thousands of people gathered outside the prime minister’s office, prompting law enforcement to fire tear gas to prevent them from invading the building.
The occupied presidential palace
“There are protests outside the prime minister’s office in Colombo and we need a curfew to control the situation,” a police officer told AFP.
They were ordered to crack down on protests that disrupt the functioning of the state, he added.
Crowds stormed Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence on Saturday, forcing him to flee to a military base before flying to the Maldives on Wednesday on a military plane. Authorities said he had promised to resign on Wednesday.
Source: BFM TV
