Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Thursday, hours after president Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country, the prime minister’s office said.

Massive demonstrations continued in Sri Lanka on Sunday.

A spokesman for Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reportedly said his office had declared a state of emergency in the face of the situation because of the departure of the country’s president.

Police in Sri Lanka say they are imposing an indefinite curfew in western province, including the capital Colombo, in an effort to contain growing demonstrations following the president’s departure.

Thousands of protesters besieged the prime minister’s office and police had to fire tear gas into the crowd, reports said.

In recent months, Sri Lanka has faced a shortage of foreign currency, rising prices and a shortage of electricity and fuel. Protesters have staged a series of demonstrations demanding a quick solution to the country’s economic crisis.

A large number of protesters set fire to the prime minister’s residence in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, Saturday. Protesters also broke into the presidential palace, taking photos, resting, exercising, swimming and even simulating a “meeting” of officials in the palace’s main conference room.

On the same day, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he would resign. On the same day, President Mahinda Rajapaksa also said he had informed Speaker Abbewardena that he would resign as president on The 13th.

On The 11th, Rajapaksa officially announced his resignation.

On the same day, Abbewardena said that Sri Lanka’s parliament will accept the nomination of presidential candidates on The 19th and elect a new president on the 20th.

But in the early hours of the 13th Mr Rajapaksa abruptly left the country. He and his wife were taken to an undisclosed location under police escort after arriving in the Maldives, AFP news agency quoted an airport official in the capital Male as saying.