Hundreds of tear gas canisters have been used to control people trying to enter Parliament in Sri Lanka.
The injured are currently being taken to the hospital.
A curfew has been imposed across the country from 5 am tomorrow.
The people who captured the Prime Minister’s office
Earlier, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s office was completely occupied by the protesters.
People entered the Prime Minister’s office and happily took selfies. Then Ranil and Gotabaya raised anti-Rajapaksa slogans, says the BBC’s Desa Wong in Colombo.
On the second floor, the protestors held a Sri Lankan flag above a sign that read Prime Minister’s Office.
Tear gas was used to disperse the protesters but the protesters defied the security forces and entered the Prime Minister’s office.
Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister held a meeting with the cabinet members at the Prime Minister’s Office and all the ministers who participated in the meeting said that once there is an agreement to form an all-party government, they will hand over the responsibilities to the government.
It also stated that President-in-Charge and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed Speaker Mahinda Yappa Abeywardena to appoint a Prime Minister acceptable to the Government and the Opposition.
Declaration of Emergency
President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency in Sri Lanka while people were protesting near the Prime Minister’s office.
While President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled the country and gone to the Maldives, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as the acting President, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yappa Abeywardana has said.
Abeywardhana said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa told him that this appointment was made under Article 37.1 of the Constitution.
A protest against Ranil Wickramasinghe took place near the President’s office this morning. The police then fired tear gas at the protestors.
BBC reporters there say police fired tear gas and pushed back those who tried to enter the gates of the prime minister’s office.
At this time the police were not wearing face shields against tear gas. They wore normal face shields.
Due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s house came under the control of the protestors in the last 9th protest. The BBC has learned that Gotabaya, who went into hiding, flew to Male, the capital of the Maldives, on Wednesday morning and landed.
In this case, a protest rally was held this morning demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. The protestors marched from the empty protest ground to the Prime Minister’s office in Kollubitti area. The protesters then tried to trespass into the Prime Minister’s office. The police then used tear gas and water cannons.
The Indian ambassador to Sri Lanka has denied the information reported in some media that India had helped behind the scenes in Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s departure from the country.
In this case, Ranil’s declaration of a state of emergency in the country is seen as a sign that he has exercised his presidential powers.
A military helicopter hovered over there as protesters gathered at Kalimugath.
The protestors in Kalimugath said that they will not give up their protest despite the state of emergency and curfew being imposed across the country.
Flying an army helicopter over the heads of the peacefully protesting people clearly shows that they do not want to allow a peaceful protest against this regime, Viraka Pereira, who participated in the protest in Kalimugath Thidal, told the BBC.
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