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Sri Lanka: 9 arrested during clashes at Galle Face protest site, says Police

Colombo: As many as nine people were arrested in the early hours of Friday at the Galle Face protest site, in a face-off between protesters and armed security personnel.

Two others sustained minor injuries and have been admitted to hospital, Sri Lanka's Newswire reported.
In a statement, Sri Lanka Police said a special team has been set up to obtain scientific evidence of any crimes committed at the Presidential Secretariat premises.

Police said a special operation was conducted jointly with the tri-forces and the Police Special Task Force (STF) early this morning to clear protesters who were illegally occupying the Presidential Secretariat, its main entrance, and the vicinity.

A large number of protesters confronted armed security personnel as the latter set up barricades outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on early Friday.

The armed soldiers were deployed in a bid to control the protesters who have been protesting against the new Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat.
Protesters are alleging that security personnel raided the anti-government protest camp in the capital.

Tents of protestors are being dismantled by the armed security personnel outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat.

"Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to destroy us, they are again doing this, but we will never give up. We want to make our country free of such nasty politics," said a protester amid an armed forces crackdown.

Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President of Sri Lanka on Thursday in Parliament by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. He was elected as president in an election held in Parliament on Wednesday.

During Wednesday's vote, Wickremesinghe received 134 votes following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the presidency last week amid severe economic turmoil in the country.

After his official residence in Colombo was stormed by tens of thousands of angry protesters last week, Sri Lanka's ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives before flying out to Singapore. Rajapaksa had offered his resignation after fleeing the country.

Sri Lanka's economy is bracing for a sharp contraction due to the unavailability of basic inputs for production, an 80 per cent depreciation of the currency since March 2022, coupled with a lack of foreign reserves and the country's failure to meet its international debt obligations.

As Sri Lanka scrambles to get back on track after the election of a new President, the people in the country -- who are facing severe economic hardship -- are still uncertain about the future. (ANI)

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