Sri Lankan forces raid anti-gov't protest camp as new president takes office

Policemen stand guard next to a graffitied wall following protests near the President's House, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lankan security forces raided a protest camp occupying government grounds in the main city of Colombo early on Friday and cleared out a section of it, a sign that the country's new president was cracking down a day after his swearing-in.

Media footage showed soldiers in riot gear and armed with assault rifles tearing down the camp, set up in April by protesters enraged with the country's economic collapse that has caused severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines.