Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency as acting president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives, leading to new protests amid an economic crisis.

The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency (throughout the country) and imposed a curfew in the western province, Wickremesinghe media secretary Dinuk Colombage told Reuters.

At the time of his departure Wednesday morning, the president had not yet tendered his resignation.

When news of his departure for the Maldives broke out, protests erupted in Colombo as people demanded his immediate resignation. Security was tightened outside Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office, and police fired tear gas and water cannons as the crowd gathered to demand that the prime minister also resign, the Guardian reported.