Colombia: The state of emergency revoked through a gazetted notification late Tuesday night was called to an end by the President on Wednesday. The state of emergency was revoked, following the resignation of the new Finance Minister in a day, which propelled agitations. Special forces were seen being stopped by the police as protests in the capital escalated.
A group of masked soldiers with assault rifles drove through the crowd on unmarked bikes at a protest near Parliament, in which children, women and the elderly were also participating. This led to a verbal confrontation between the armed soldiers and the police when the officials tried to stop them, prompting Army Chief Shavendra Silva to call for an inquiry.
The resignation of the newly elected FM, Ali Sabry came moments ago the govt was scheduled to hold crucial talks with the IMF for a loan program. The monetary funding watchdog said that it was closely monitoring political and economic development s in the island nation as the public unrest grew amid the economic debacle.
The Sri Lankan govt is five short of a majority in the 225-member House, but there hovers no chance of the opposition legislators attempting a no-confidence motion to topple it immediately. The President dissolved his cabinet on Monday and sought to form a unity govt to tackle the crisis.
The streets have been gripped by massive protests as 22 million citizens faced a staggering shortage of food and fuel. Attempts were made to attack a dozen of govt official residences including the President’s house in Colombia, following which the first notice declaring the state of emergency was issued. Vehicles of the security forces were torched, to which police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas.
The nation has been suffering a critical lack of foreign currency struggling to service its ballooning $51 billing foreign debt, with the pandemic torpedoing tourism and remittances.