July 13, 2022 20:24 PM
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
[China News Agency]Colombo News: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency on the 13th and imposed a curfew in the western province.
According to the Sri Lankan media “Ada Derana”, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s Office said that as acting president, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has ordered the immediate implementation of a curfew in the western province, and the country has entered a state of emergency. It is worth noting that the capital Colombo is located in the Western Province.
However, Sri Lanka’s railway operator said that despite the imposition of a curfew in the western province, trains will continue to run until all commuters are sent home.
Sri Lankan media Colombo Gazette reported that Wickremesinghe also ordered security forces to arrest the misbehaving and seize the vehicles they were in. Earlier in the day, police fired tear gas at protesters who had gathered near the prime minister’s office.
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on the 13th that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had left Sri Lanka on a military plane. According to local media “News1st”, the Sri Lankan Air Force said that the Air Force provided planes for the President and his party and took them out of Sri Lanka to the Maldives. This was done in accordance with the powers vested in the President by law and at the request of the Sri Lankan government, with the approval of the Ministry of Defence.