Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered “the army and police to take the necessary steps to restore order,” he said in a televised statement after protesters stormed his office.

He explained that “the demonstrators want to prevent me from taking over as acting president,” stressing that “we cannot let the fascists take over.”

Anti-government demonstrators broke into the prime minister’s office after his appointment as acting president, where they managed to break through military obstacles and raise the country’s flags after the police and army were unable to repel them, despite the use of tear gas and the use of water cannons. Protesters also stopped broadcasting state television after storming the television headquarters.

A few hours ago, a state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country. This was followed by the appointment of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president, according to what was announced by Speaker of Parliament Mahidna Abiwardana as thousands of protesters called on the two men to step down.

“Due to his absence from the country, President Rajapaksa informed me that he has appointed the prime minister as acting president, as provided by the constitution,” Mahidna Abiwardana said in a short televised speech.

A Sri Lankan military plane landed at dawn this morning at Malé Airport, the capital of the Maldives, carrying Rajapaksa, who officials said had vowed to resign after massive popular protests against him.

A male airport official confirmed to the agency that an An-32 military aircraft had landed at the airport from Colombo with four people on board, including the 73-year-old president, his wife and a bodyguard, noting that as soon as they got off the plane, they were escorted by police.