Sri Lankan police arrest 664 for violating curfew
Sri Lankan police arrested 664 people in the Western Province between 10 p.m. local time on Saturday and 6 a.m. local time on Sunday, for violating the curfew currently in effect, Senior Superintendent of Police Nihal Thalduwa said.
The government imposed a 36-hour nationwide curfew from 6.00 p.m. Saturday until 6.00 a.m. on Monday, in addition to a state of emergency declared by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
A few hours after declaring curfew, the president also issued a gazette, prohibiting people from public roads, parks, recreation or other grounds, railways, seashores and other such public places during the curfew period.
The Sri Lankan government on Sunday also blocked commonly used social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and messaging platforms WhatsApp and Viber.
Mass protests against the government had been planned on Sunday through social media platforms.
