Sri Lanka has defaulted on its foreign debt of $51 billion and is negotiating a bailout package with the IMF.
Colombo:
An indefinite curfew was in place across the Sri Lankan capital on Friday and the military was put on alert ahead of a planned protest demanding the removal of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. .
Police Chief Chandana Wickramaratne said Colombo and its suburbs would be placed under a curfew from 15:30 GMT until further notice and urged people to stay indoors.
The order comes as thousands of anti-government protesters flocked to the capital on Friday ahead of Saturday’s rally to pressure Rajapaksa to abandon the country’s deepening economic crisis.
The island nation is experiencing unprecedented shortages of essentials, and its 22 million people have suffered from runaway inflation and prolonged power outages since the start of the year.
Protesters for months have camped outside Rajapaksa’s Colombo office to demand his resignation over economic mismanagement.
Thousands of soldiers armed with rifles swarmed Colombo earlier in the day to bolster police protection of Rajapaksa’s official residence, where anti-government protesters had vowed to storm on Saturday.
“An operation involving nearly 20,000 troops, police and women was launched this afternoon,” a top defense official told AFP. “We hope that tomorrow’s protest will not turn violent.”
He added troops had been brought to the capital from the provinces after at least three judges refused to ban Saturday’s protests.
The United Nations called on both the Sri Lankan authorities and the protesters to ensure that Saturday’s protests take place peacefully.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said: “We call on the Sri Lankan authorities to show restraint in controlling the councils and ensure all necessary efforts are made to stop the violence.”
Nine people were killed and hundreds injured as clashes broke out across the country after Rajapaksa loyalists attacked peaceful protesters outside the presidential office in May.
Sri Lanka has defaulted on its foreign debt of $51 billion and is in bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
