Less than 24 hours after he was sworn is the new president of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe set in motion just what I feared, a brutal crackdown on the largely peaceful protest movements. In a predawn attack early Friday morning at around 1:00 am, a large number of police and military units descended upon the protest camp that had been set in front of the president’s office and attacked protestors, journalists, lawyers, and other observers, injuring many who had to be hospitalized. They also destroyed the camp site.
Sri Lanka’s military raided the main protest camp in Colombo overnight, arresting several protest leaders on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s first day in office.
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— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 22, 2022
Here is a BBC reporter whose colleague was also attacked.