Sri Lankan police use tear gas on protesters near parliament

Sri Lankan protesters demand the resignation of the government in Colombo (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

Sri Lankan police have used tear gas and a water cannon to disperse student protesters who were camped outside parliament criticising legislators for not ousting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government over the country’s worst economic crisis in recent memory.

The student-led protest began on Thursday after a government-backed deputy speaker was elected in parliament by a comfortable margin in what was seen as a key victory for the ruling coalition.