Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne allegedly assaulted a journalist reporting the tense situation at the Hambantota harbour yesterday.

The navy commander arrived at the scene when workers were preventing two ships from leaving the port.

Several workers were injured when the navy attempted to remove them from the water and the jetty. The alleged assault of the journalist took place during this incident.

The two ships were able to leave the port by the evening, after the navy cleared the jetty and erected blockades so that the workers were not able to reach the jetty.