Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after President Rajapaksa flees: PM’s office

Colombo, Jul 13 (PTI) Sri Lanka on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the country’s economy.

The Prime Minister’s Office informed the media organisations that the state of emergency in the country and a curfew in the Western province had been imposed.

The Prime Minister has also ordered the security forces to arrest people acting in a riotous manner and to seize their vehicles.

Earlier the Police fired tear gas on protesters who gathered near the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Flower Road, Colombo.

Meanwhile, protesters marched to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office on Flower Street, calling for his resignation after the news came in that President Rajapaksa had fled to the Maldives.

The Police fired tear gas on protesters who had gathered near the PM office. The protesters broke through a barricade despite tear gas and stormed the prime minister’s office.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has already said he was willing to resign and make way for an all-party government to take over.

Protestors also gathered around the Parliament Speaker’s residence. The military was deployed to control the situation, the Colombo Gazette news portal reported.

The US Embassy in Colombo has cancelled its services as a precaution for the next two days. PTI CORR AMS ZH AMS