Security personnel in Sri Lanka invaded a protest camp occupying government grounds in the capital city of Colombo early on Friday. It swept out a chunk of it, a warning that the country’s new president was cracking down a day after his swearing-in.

Media footage showed soldiers in riot gear equipped with assault rifles taking down the camp, set up in April by demonstrators angry by the country’s economic collapse that has created chronic shortages of petrol, food, and medicines.

“A joint operation involving the military, police and police special forces was launched in the early hours to recover the presidential secretariat from the protesters as they have no legal right to hold it,” police spokesperson Nalin Thalduwa told Reuters.

“Nine people, including two injured, have been arrested.”

Protesters had believed a crackdown was imminent under new President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was considered an ally of his deposed predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Protest organizers reported hundreds of security forces approached the “Gota Go Gama” protest camp, mockingly named after Rajapaksa, around midnight and subsequently ripped apart a chunk of it.

As daybreak broke, dozens of military marched through the area, and rows of protest tents that stood on both sides of the major road that passed in front of the president's office were swept out. More demonstrators gathered by, looking at newly built-up barricades and security guards.

At least 50 protestors were hurt, the organizers alleged, including some journalists who were beaten by police authorities. Hospital sources say two were hospitalized.

“They beat us cruelly,” claimed Buddhika Abeyrathne, 34, a protester who observed the raid but did not look harmed. “Mr. Wickremesinghe doesn’t know what democracy is.”

Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency since Monday. Previous emergency measures have extended authority to the military to detain and arrest protestors and constrain the right to demonstrate.

Wickremesinghe, the former prime minister, was inaugurated into office on Thursday after winning a parliamentary vote this week, following the resignation of Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore in the wake of major public protests set off by the country’s worst economic crisis in seven decades.