Sri Lankan Army chief General Shavendra Silva said on Sunday, 10 July, that an opportunity to resolve the current political crisis in a peaceful manner was now available and urged people to maintain peace in the island nation.
The development comes a day after thousands of angry protesters stormed into President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence in Colombo, demanding that he step down over the handling of the island's worst economic crisis since Independence in 1948.
President Gotabaya succumbed to the mounting pressure and agreed to step down on Wednesday, 13 July.
The protesters also torched the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe even after he offered to resign.
In a brief statement, Chief of Defence Staff General Silva said that an opportunity had arisen to resolve the current crisis peacefully. He also requested all Sri Lankans to support the armed forces and the police in order to maintain peace in the country, as per new portal Colombo Gazette.
US Urges Lanka Politicians To 'Quickly' Identify Solutions
Meanwhile, the United States urged the Sri Lankan political leaders on Sunday to hasten the solution needed to resolve the economic and political crisis and appease the growing discontent among Sri Lankans.
A US State Department spokesperson said:
"We urge this government or any new, constitutionally selected government to work quickly to identify and implement solutions that will achieve long-term economic stability and address the Sri Lankan people’s discontent over the worsening economic conditions, including power, food and fuel shortages."
The spokesperson also called on the Sri Lankan Parliament to "approach this juncture with a commitment to the betterment of the nation – not any one political party."
(With inputs from PTI.)
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