People wait to enter the President’s house after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

i24 News – Israel’s Foreign Minister recommended Thursday that Israelis avoid all non-essential travel to Sri Lanka as violence continues to grip the country.

“Israeli citizens in Sri Lanka are recommended to take into account the deteriorating economic situation that has resulted in an intensified shortage of fuel, cooking gas, and even food,” the Foreign Ministry travel warning said.

“This situation could develop into additional deteriorating of authorities’ ability to govern, which could include chaos in some areas of the country,” the warning said.

The warning also cautioned that leaving the country could prove challenging due to uncertainty around flights leaving the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday, his replacement declaring a state of emergency.

Protesters overran the palace over the weekend, forcing Rajapaksa to flee to the Maldives.

Thousands of anti-government protesters also stormed into Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office Wednesday, hours after he was named as acting president.

Police and troops failed to hold back crowds despite firing tear gas and water cannons.

In a televised address after thousands of people captured his office in Colombo, Wickremesinghe declared: “Those who go to my office want to stop me from discharging my responsibilities as acting president.

“We can’t allow fascists to take over. That is why I declared a nationwide emergency and a curfew,” he added.