Sri Lanka announces a curfew across the country from Saturday evening until Monday morning amid protests against an unprecedented economic crisis
Troops armed with sweeping powers and automatic assault rifles have been deployed in the island nation to quell escalating protests.
The ire of a mob in the near-bankrupt country was directed on Saturday at a woman identified as a soothsayer frequently consulted by Rajapaksa in the northern town of Anuradhapura. The country is battling severe shortages of essentials, sharp price rises and crippling power cuts in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.
The curfew and state of emergency in the country of 22 million came as social media posts called for protests on Sunday.In normal times, Sri Lanka's military can only play a supporting role to police, but the state of emergency gives them authority to act alone, including to detain civilians.
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