Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asked the army to do whatever was necessary to restore order after protesters stormed his office on Wednesday. Mr Wickremesinghe has been appointed acting president by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has fled the country.
But the decision to leave him in charge triggered further protests and demands that the Prime Minister should go as well. Sri Lanka has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades.
Many blame the Rajapaksa administration for the crisis and see Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister in May, as part of the problem. On Wednesday, protesters ransacked the highly secure state building for the second time in less than a week. This time it was the office of the Prime Minister.
Echoing scenes from the occupied president’s official residence earlier in the weekend, people in the prime minister’s office sat on plush sofas posing for photographs. In contrast, others stood on chairs and desks waving the Sri Lankan flag.
In a television address, Mr Wickremesinghe called on protesters to leave his busy office and other state buildings and co-operate with authorities.
“We can’t tear up our constitution. We can’t allow fascists to take over. We must end this fascist threat to democracy,” he said.
The continuing unrest came after news broke that President Rajapaksa had fled to the Maldives. The president went into hiding and promised to resign after raiding his official residence on Saturday.
The leader, exempted from prosecution as president, is believed to have wanted to flee abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new administration.
However, he is yet to submit a formal letter of resignation.