Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 17 (ANI): The Sri Lankan Army on Sunday said that Brigadier Anil Somaweera of Sri Lanka Light Infantry, who was on duty on July 13 when the Prime Minister’s Office was taken over by protesters, has not been suspended.
The news regarding the suspension of Brigadier Somaweera was false, Army spokesman Brigadier Nilantha Premaratna said as quoted by Daily Mirror.
The Army spokesman added that Brigadier Somaweera has been assigned to the Army Headquarters.
The island nation has been reeling under a major economic crisis that has created acute shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies, and left the country teetering on the edge of economic ruin, having entered discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over an emergency bailout.
A large number of protestors gathered outside the residence of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister on July 13 and took over his office. Security personnel resorted to tear-gas shelling to drive away protestors on the streets of Colombo.
Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe instructed armed forces and police to bring the current situation under control.
Wickremesinghe declared an emergency and imposed a curfew in the western province of the country as protesters came prepared to face tear gas shelling by security forces deployed outside his residence. Air patrolling also began around the PM’s residence.
Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva requested all citizens to give their support to the armed forces to maintain law and order in the crisis-ridden country.
Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka had appealed to security forces not to implement unconstitutional and unlawful orders given by the acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
He urged the armed forces, as a lawful and disciplined army, not to open fire at unarmed civilians and that their weapons should be directed against corrupt politicians.
Further, party leaders decided to request Wickremesinghe to resign forthwith and allow the Speaker to take charge of the country, PTA Leader Mano Ganesan said.
The UN mission in Sri Lanka has urged senior politicians to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in line with the national Constitution, following weeks of protests that finally saw the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday.
Rajapaksa offered his resignation after fleeing the country and arriving in Singapore, having first flown to the Maldives on Wednesday after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his official residence in the capital Colombo. (ANI)
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