The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has upgraded its Sri Lanka travel advisory.  Only essential travel to the country is recommended owing to "ongoing political and economic instability".

It follows several weeks of unrest in the country, which led to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigning last Monday (9 May) following a mass cabinet resignation. Several people have died in clashes, and hundreds are reported to have been injured.

Rajapaksa’s younger brother Gotabaya, the country’s President, has since installed veteran senior opposition MP Ranil Wickremesinghe to lead a proposed cross-party government.

The FCDO on Friday afternoon (13 May) stepped up its advice following the country’s declaration of a state of emergency and the imposition of an island-wide curfew.

Authorities have this week used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protests in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, according to the FCDO. There have also been incidents in and around the city of Kandy and other parts of the country.

"Further incidents could take place", said the FCDO, which is advising anyone in Sri Lanka, or anyone considering travel there, to avoid all protests and follow the advice of local authorities.

The fresh advice does not apply to airside transit through Sri Lanka’s main international airport, Bandaranaike.

According to the FCDO, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has confirmed international travellers can use their passports and airline tickets as curfew passes to travel to and from the airport.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka