Chaos on Colombo’s streets as supporters of deposed Sri Lanka PM demand parliament be reopened

A rally of hundreds of cars carrying supporters of Sri Lanka’s deposed prime minister brought chaos to Colombo’s streets on Thursday as they demanded that parliament be reopened. A cavalcade of motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, cars and vans took loyalists of ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to a rally slamming the president for sacking the head of government last month, AFP reports. President Maithripala Sirisena named former president Mahinda Rajapakse as the new PM, in a shock move, on October 26. Parliament was also suspended so neither of the pair won a vote of confidence. The rival prime ministers have now spent nearly two weeks at loggerheads. Amid traffic chaos, Thursday’s rally was staged at Independence Square. The US embassy in Colombo issued a security alert warning of traffic delays.