It follows several weeks of unrest in the country, which led to prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigning on 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.