Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency As Protesters Descend onto PM's House (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Crisis-hit Sri Lanka declared an indefinite nationwide state of emergency, hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.
"Since the president is out of the country, an emergency has been declared to deal with the situation in the country," Dinouk Colombage, spokesman for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, said on Wednesday.
Anti-government protesters angry over power blackouts, shortages of basic goods and rising prices have long demanded that Rajapaksa steps down, but the retired military officer had resisted the demands for months, invoking emergency powers in an attempt to maintain control.
Police said they were also imposing an indefinite curfew across the Western Province, which includes the capital Colombo, to contain growing protests after Rajapaksa flew to the Maldives in a military aircraft.
Thousands of demonstrators mobbed the premier's office, prompting police to fire tear gas to hold them back from overrunning the compound.
"There are ongoing protests outside the prime minister's office in Colombo and we need the curfew to contain the situation," a senior police officer said.
He said they were under orders to crack down against demonstrators disrupting the functioning of the state.
