Hundreds of Sri Lankan soldiers and police swoop in on unarmed activists blocking Presidential Secretariat in capital Colombo, a sign new President Ranil Wickremesinghe is cracking down a day after his swearing-in.
Sri Lankan security forces have demolished the main anti-government protest camp in the capital and evicted activists hours before the new president was due to name a cabinet.
"A joint operation involving the military, police and police special forces was launched in the early hours to recover the presidential secretariat from the protesters as they have no legal right to hold it," police spokesperson Nalin Thalduwa told the Reuters news agency of the early Friday raid.
"Nine people, including two injured, have been arrested."
It came a day after veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the crisis-hit country's new leader, replacing Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled and resigned after protesters overran his palace.
Troops and police Special Task Force commandos armed with batons and automatic assault rifles swooped in on protesters blocking the capital's Presidential Secretariat hours before they were due to vacate the area.
Activists had announced they planned to hand over the building, a symbol of state authority, on Friday afternoon, after a cabinet was sworn in by Wickremesinghe.
Troops were seen attacking people, including journalists, with batons as they advanced towards small groups of protesters gathered at what had become known as the "GotaGoGama (village)".
Sri Lankan Military has taken over some parts of the Galle Face protest site forcibly removing protesters pic.twitter.com/NL4MtblMCt
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) July 21, 2022
Several people detained
The head of the influential Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Saliya Peiris, condemned the military action and warned it would hurt the new government's international image.
"Unnecessary use of brute force will not help this country and its international image," Peiris said in a brief statement. He said several people, including a lawyer, had been detained by security forces.
Supporters of the months-long campaign pressing Rajapaksa to step down had taken over the area after capturing his palace on July 9, forcing him to flee to Singapore and eventually resign.
After Rajapaksa stepped down, six-time prime minister Wickremesinghe took over the leadership temporarily, until he was confirmed as the new president in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday.
Wickremesinghe had warned protesters that occupying state buildings was illegal and that they would be evicted unless they left on their own.
The day Rajapaksa was forced to flee, protesters also set fire to Wickremesinghe's private home in the capital.
The new president has also declared a state of emergency that gives sweeping powers to armed forces and allows police to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without being charged.
Protesters have accused Wickremesinghe of being a proxy of the former president's powerful family –– a charge he has denied.
"I am not a friend of the Rajapaksas," he told reporters at the Gangaramaya temple. "I am a friend of the people."
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(With input from news agency language)
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