Sri Lankan army commandos walk past the damaged vehicles after they were set on fire by demonstrators at the top of the road to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence during a protest against him, as many parts of the crisis-hit country face up to 13 hours without electricity due to a shortage of foreign currency to import fuel, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide state of emergency late on Friday, in the face of growing public unrest amid the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
In a government gazette notification released late on Friday, Rajapaksa said the decision was taken in the interests of public security, the protection of public order, and to ensure the maintenance of supplies and essential services.
Sri Lankan crime scene officers inspect damaged vehicles after they were set on fire by demonstrators at the top of the road to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence during a protest against him, as many parts of the crisis-hit country face up to 13 hours without electricity due to a shortage of foreign currency to import fuel, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
(Reportig by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Euan Rocha; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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