State of emergency is declared in Sri Lanka after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa leaves
Dinouk Colombage, the prime minister's spokesperson, told AFP that "an emergency has been proclaimed to cope with the situation in the country because the president is out of the country."
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Crisis-hit On Wednesday, hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country, Sri Lanka announced an indefinite national state of emergency, according to the prime minister's office.
Dinouk Colombage, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told AFP that "an emergency has been proclaimed to cope with the situation in the country because the president is out of the country."
The Western Province, which encompasses the nation's capital Colombo, will also be subject to an indefinite curfew, according to police, in an effort to quell the mounting protests that followed Rajapaksa's flight to the Maldives in a military jet.
Police used tear gas to stop thousands of protesters from overrunning the property after they surrounded the premier's office.
A senior police officer told AFP that "there are ongoing protests outside the prime minister's office in Colombo and we need the curfew to handle the situation."
He claimed that they had been told to take harsh action against demonstrators who were interfering with government operations.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of men and women stormed Rajapaksa's official mansion, forcing him to flee to a military installation.
He had pledged to step down on Wednesday, according to officials.
