Sri Lanka’s sacked prime minister refuses to leave as crisis deepens | World news

Sri Lanka’s sacked prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has resisted moves to evict him from his official residence, as his controversial successor sought blessings at a prominent temple ahead of naming a new cabinet.

The new ruling party had given Wickremesinghe until Sunday morning to leave the Temple Trees official residence following his shock dismissal on Friday that has plunged the Indian Ocean island into constitutional turmoil.

Officials said police will now seek a court order to evict Wickremesinghe, whose security and official cars were also withdrawn by the president, Maithripala Sirisena, on Saturday.

Wickremesinghe had earlier insisted Sirisena’s dismissal of him was illegal and demanded an emergency session to prove he still commanded a majority.

Instead, Sirisena shut parliament for nearly three weeks to forestall any challenge against his appointment of former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister.

Privately run newspapers on Sunday described Sirisena’s move as a “constitutional coup” that has plunged the country into an unprecedented crisis.

All police leave was cancelled as tensions heightened in Colombo and more troops were seen near Temple Trees as well as the president’s office.

Western nations have expressed concern and asked all sides to act with restraint and respect the constitution.

Meanwhile, Rajapaksa travelled to a highly venerated Buddhist temple in the central district of Kandy to seek blessings from monks before naming a cabinet.

Rajapaksa’s aides said he was likely to name a few cabinet ministers later on Sunday and begin work on Monday. He is yet to make a formal statement or address the nation since being elevated to the new post.

The former strongman is a controversial figure at home and abroad, and had presided over the crushing of the decades-long Tamil Tiger uprising.

He is seen as being closer to China than Wickremesinghe, who had sought to re-establish stronger ties with traditional ally and regional power India. Official sources in New Delhi said they were “closely watching” developments in Colombo.