The Indian High Commission Sri Lanka issued a statement that “strongly denies” rumours that Indian troops have been deployed to the island, as anti-government protests continue.
“High Commission strongly denies blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to Sri Lanka,” said a tweet from the Indian High Commission on Saturday.
“The High Commission also condemns such irresponsible reporting and expects the concerned to desist from spreading rumours.”
Reports of the Indian deployment were spread in the Sinhala press and on social media, as unrest continued in the South amidst anti-government protests.
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The head of the Sri Lankan and Indian armies shaking hands last year.
The High Commission statement comes despite a close military relationship between India and Sri Lanka. In October last year, the head of the Indian army toured the island, donating training equipment to the military, witnessing a large scale joint training exercise and meeting with several senior officials accused of war crimes.
