Protest camps raided, removed as new Sri Lanka President takes over | Top Points

A day after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President, Sri Lankan security forces raided an anti-government protest camp in Colombo and evicted activists gathered outside the president's office.

A huge military contingent, along with police, raided Galle Face in Colombo on Friday, where anti-government protesters have peacefully agitated for over three months in the wake of the island nation’s economic crisis.

The military attack on the main agitation site comes less than 24 hours after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President, amid political tumult in the island after dramatic citizen protests on July 9 led to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka.

As Acting President, Wickremesinghe declared an emergency on Monday, two days ahead of a crucial parliament vote in which he was elected President.

1) Hundreds of Sri Lankan soldiers and police raided the main anti-government protest camp in Colombo on Friday. The raids came a day after veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe who vowed tough action against demonstrators was sworn in as the crisis-hit country’s new president, replacing Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whom protesters forced to step down.

2) Troops and police commandos armed with riot gear swooped in on the protesters blocking the president’s office hours before they were due to vacate the area. Activists had announced plans to hand over the building, a symbol of state authority, on Friday afternoon, after Wickremesinghe swore in a cabinet.

3) The new cabinet, which is expected to include representatives from a variety of political parties, will have the difficult task of steering the country out of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain.

4) Witnesses saw soldiers encircling the presidential office on the seafront and removing temporary structures that had been set up in the area to provide logistics for thousands of anti-government protesters since early April.