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After days of military action that sparked international concern and drove away anti-government protestors, police in Sri Lanka announced that the besieged presidential office will reopen on Monday.

Protesters stormed and occupied the colonial-era structure earlier this month as a result of widespread public outrage over the island"s catastrophic economic crisis.

On the same day, soldiers were had to rescue the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his neighbouring mansion; the leader afterwards fled to Singapore and announced his resignation.

The 92-year-old presidential administration was cleared out by troops armed with automatic weapons and batons under the direction of Rajapaksa"s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Security troops dismantled protesters" tents that had been up outside the facility since April during the operation, which left at least 48 people injured and nine people in custody.

An unnamed police official who was not authorised to speak to the media on Sunday said, "The office is ready for reopening on Monday."

"The secretariat is no longer under siege," was the statement made on May 9.

According to police, forensic specialists were summoned in to assess the Presidential Secretariat"s damage and gather evidence.

Wickremesinghe has been under fire from Western nations, the UN, and human rights organisations for employing force against unarmed protestors who had made it known they intended to leave the area later on Friday.

Defending the raid, Wickremesinghe claimed that he had informed diplomats based in Colombo on Friday that obstructing official facilities was unacceptable.

Protesters are free to carry on their rallies at a designated location close to the presidential office, according to police spokeswoman Nihal Talduwa.

"They may continue to protest at the designated location. Even additional locations in the city could be made available to protesters by the administration, "Sunday, Talduwa said.

Less than 24 hours after Wickremesinghe took the oath of office and just before a new government was named, the military operation to evacuate the secretariat building and its immediate vicinity took place.
Burning fuel emergency

The 22 million residents of Sri Lanka have also had to deal with months-long blackouts, record inflation, and shortages of food, fuel, and gasoline.

After defaulting on its $51 billion in foreign debt, the government is now formally bankrupt and is in rescue negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

The government declared Sunday that it will reopen schools that had been closed for more than a month despite the fact that the economic crisis that drove the protest campaign shows no signs of abating.

The education ministry announced that because there is still a countrywide gasoline scarcity, students and teachers will only be required to attend class three days a week.

Despite the government instituting a system of rationing, Sunday saw miles-long lines of drivers waiting to fill up.

In August, the new president Wickremesinghe will present a revised budget for the remainder of the year because the prior revenue and expense projections were too optimistic.