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Sri Lankan security forces have destroyed the main camp of anti-government protesters in the capital, as the overnight operation raised international concerns.
The special forces, armed with automatic rifles, removed the protesters who were stationed near the Presidency.
Hundreds of soldiers removed the protestors’ barricades placed near the building, while the last remaining protesters in the presidential residence were driven away by the army.
This operation took place hours after the new president, Ranil Wickermesinghe, chose a new prime minister in order to manage the economic crisis that has fueled protests in the state for several months.
Wickremesinghe was elected president on Wednesday, replacing Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore amid mass protests.
Citizens still protesting are demanding that Wickremesinghe also resign, accusing him of protecting the Rajapaksa clan, which has dominated the country’s political scene for the past two decades.
On Friday morning, police and soldiers armed with automatic rifles cleared the main roads leading to the Presidency.
But the protesters, who are near the government buildings and the Presidency, opposed the actions of the authorities and demanded the holding of new elections. They have vowed to continue the protests.
In the police statement, it was said that the security forces “cleared the Presidential Secretariat of the protesters, removing them from the main gate and the surrounding area”.
“Nine people have been arrested. Two of them were injured”, it was said in the announcement.
The US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, said she was “deeply concerned” by the army’s actions.
“We call on the authorities to exercise restraint and provide medical treatment to the injured,” she wrote on Twitter.
The protests in Sri Lanka, which led to the ousting of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, were fueled by the economic crisis and the lack of supplies of food, fuel and other basic products.
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