Sri Lanka on brink of ‘chaos and anarchy’

SRI LANKA’S president sacked three of the country’s most powerful cabinet ministers yesterday, suspended parliament and ordered troops out in the streets of Colombo, throwing the island into a constitutional crisis.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is on an official visit in Washington, said the moves by his arch-rival, President Chandrika Kumaratunga, could plunge the country into "chaos and anarchy".

The events reflect Ms Kumaratunga's unease over government efforts to end the 20-year war with Tamil rebels and could imperil the peace process itself.