Emergency declared in Sri Lanka as violent protests erupt

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in the country and a curfew in the Western province has been imposed after violent protest erupted in Colombo following reports of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing to Maldives.

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

President Rajapaksa, 73, left the country along with his wife and two security officers on a military jet, a brief statement from the Sri Lanka Air Force said.

The Prime Minister's Office also confirmed that the President had left the country.

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Rajapaksa, who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, fled the country before resigning to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new government.

With PTI inputs