SL president calls on armed forces to maintain public order after emergency lifted

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has issued a special gazette notice, calling upon the country's armed forces to maintain public order across the country hours after he ended a four-month state of emergency, local media reports said here Saturday.

The president issued the gazette notification by virtue of the powers vested in him by Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance, the special notice published in the local media said.

Accordingly, the army, navy and the air forces have now been deployed for the maintenance of public order in several administrative districts across the country, including capital Colombo.

President Sirisena lifted the state of emergency on Friday which was declared on April 22, a day after multiple terror attacks in the country killed over 250 people and injured over 500.

He then extended it monthly as security forces continued to conduct nationwide raids to hunt for suspects linked to the attacks.

Police said more than 100 suspects had been arrested over the terror attacks so far.