12:07 p.m .: The Prime Minister asks the army and the police to “restore order”
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has asked the army and the police to “do what is necessary to restore order”, he announced on Wednesday in a televised address after protesters entered his offices. .
The protesters “want to prevent me from fulfilling my responsibilities as interim president”, he added. “We cannot allow the fascists to take over. »
11:30 am: Protesters enter the Prime Minister’s offices
Thousands of protesters stormed the office of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe hours after he was named interim president, witnesses said.
The crowd overwhelmed law enforcement and entered the building, waving country flags, as police and military tried to push them back with tear gas and water cannons.
Before that, the protesters had stormed into the premises of the main public television channel, whose programs they disrupted, according to the images.
An unidentified man entered the studio of the Rupavahini channel during a live broadcast and ordered that only information relating to the protests be broadcast. The transmission was cut and replaced by a recorded program.
10:03 a.m .: Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed interim president
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed interim president, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa having fled abroad, the Speaker of Parliament announced on Wednesday.
“Due to his absence from the country, President Rajapaksa told me that he had appointed the Prime Minister to act as President, in accordance with the constitution,” Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said in a brief televised address.
Emergency state
Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, hours after its president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled.
“As the president has left the country, an emergency has been declared to deal with the situation in the country,” said the prime minister’s spokesman, Dinouk Colombage.
Police have announced an indefinite curfew in the Western Province, that of the capital of Colombo, to contain the protests.
Police fired tear gas at protesters
Thousands of people gathered outside the prime minister’s office, prompting law enforcement to fire tear gas to prevent them from invading the building.
“There are protests outside the Prime Minister’s office in Colombo and we need a curfew to control the situation,” a police official said. They were ordered to suppress protests that disrupt the functioning of the state, he added.
The crowd stormed the official residence of Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday, forcing him to flee to a military base before reaching the Maldives on Wednesday aboard a military plane.
Officials said he had promised to resign on Wednesday.