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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Politics

Sri Lanka declares state of emergency as protests spread

Sri Lankan soldiers walk past a bus burned by demonstrators at the top of the road of President Rajapaksa's residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]

Sri Lanka’s president has declared a state of emergency, giving sweeping powers to security forces a day after hundreds tried to storm his house in anger over an unprecedented economic crisis.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invoked the tough laws on Friday allowing the military to arrest and imprison suspects for long periods without trial as demonstrations calling for his resignation spread across the South Asian nation.

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