Police have filed charges against former cricket star Khan over what they say is a threat in the speech in which he spoke about police torture of an aide who faces sedition charges for inciting mutiny in the military.

Media footage from the site showed soldiers armed with assault rifles trying to tear down the camp as dozens of police watched.

Protesters say the appointment of Wickremesinghe will do little to ease the anger against the president, who they say is ultimately responsible for the worst economic crisis to hit the nation since it became independent in 1948.

Rajapaksa's evacuation to an undisclosed location followed a day of violent protests in which five people, including a lawmaker, were killed and nearly 200 wounded.

Ending a previous light-touch approach, hundreds of officers used perspex shields and pepper spray to force back protesters, who responded by pelting them with chairs, bottles and paint bombs.

New Zealand has put in place some of the toughest restrictions for the last two years to deal with the coronavirus that have helped keep infections and deaths lower than in many comparable nations.

Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades.

Police used tear gas and stun grenades to drive hundreds of protesters out of the main square in Almaty and clashes resumed on Wednesday.

At least 30 people were detained after scuffles, during which four officers were injured, police say.

Protesters said they targeted 11 mobile phone masts belonging to the military-owned Mytel, one of the country's four main cell networks