"No Law And Order At The Moment," Says Former Sri Lanka PM's Son To NDTV

As Sri Lanka continues to deal with an economic crisis, former cabinet minister Namal Rajapaksa urged protesters to maintain peace as violence is not the solution. His statement comes after a Sri Lanka court today banned former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and 16 allies from leaving the country over acts of violence against anti-government demonstrators.

Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that there was provocation from both sides. "There is no law and order at the moment," Namal Rajapaksa told NDTV.

A Sri Lanka court has asked police to investigate Monday's mob attacks on peaceful protesters, which led to retaliatory violence that killed nine and caused widespread destruction.

Condemning the violence, Namal said, "This is not something that happened overnight. There was provocation from both sides."

Police must now ensure safety and stability in the country, he said.

Following the violence, the army was called out to patrol the streets. Security forces have been given orders to shoot looters on sight.

Sri Lanka's central bank governor has said that failing to find a solution to the crisis in the next one to two weeks would lead to power cuts of up to 10 to 12 hours per day, as well as his own resignation.

Sri Lanka's veteran political leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was today appointed the next Prime Minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.