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Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to resign after thousands of protesters in the commercial capital of Colombo barged through police barricades and stormed his residence and office on Saturday as part of an anti-government demonstration brought on by the country’s economic collapse.
Some protesters were carrying Sri Lankan flags and helmets as they broke into the president’s residence in the South Asian nation, according to video footage from local TV station NewsFirst.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is reportedly safe and has not stepped down.
“The president was escorted to safety,” a senior defense source told AFP. “He is still the president, he is being protected by a military unit.”
“To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government,” Wickremesinghe tweeted. “To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister.”
The country, consisting of about 22 million, is suffering from a severe foreign exchange shortage, which has limited essential imports of fuel, food and medicine. This shortage has pushed the island into its worst financial situation in 70 years.
Rajapaksa has been blamed by many for the country’s economic decline. Protests have taken place since March in which demonstrators have demanded the president’s resignation. Saturday’s protest is believed to be one of the biggest anti-government marches this year.
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Video from Sri Lankan media outlets showed protesters storming into the president’s residence.
Images showed protesters who stormed the residence sitting on a bed and swimming in a pool.
Protesters demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa swim in a pool inside the compound of Sri Lanka’s Presidential Palace in Colombo on July 9, 2022.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators protest inside the President’s House, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in this screengrab obtained from social media video on July 9, 2022.
(News Cutter via REUTERS)
Protesters try to remove a tear gas shell after it was fired by police to disperse them in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lankan protesters demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign forced their way into his official residence on Saturday, a local television report said, as thousands of people took to the streets in the capital decrying the island nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. (AP Photo/Amitha Thennakoon)
Protesters, many carrying Sri Lankan flags, gather outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022.
(AP Photo/Thilina Kaluthotage)
According to a witness, thousands of demonstrators forced their way into Colombo’s government district, breaking multiple police barricades before reaching Rajapaksa’s residence.
Police fired shots in the air but failed to halt the protestors from surrounding the president’s house, the witness said.
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Police use water canon and tear gas to disperse the protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lankan protesters demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign forced their way into his official residence on Saturday, a local television report said, as thousands of people took to the streets in the capital decrying the island nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. (AP Photo/Amitha Thennakoon)
A severe shortage of fuel on the Asian island has stalled transportation services, but demonstrators still rode on buses, trains and trucks from different areas of the country to reach Colombo to protest the government’s economic failures.
The impoverished country in recent weeks has stopped receiving fuel shipments, which has forced school closures and limited petrol and diesel for services deemed essential.
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A man throws back a tear gas shell after it was fired by police to disperse the protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lankan protesters demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign forced their way into his official residence on Saturday, a local television report said, as thousands of people took to the streets in the capital decrying the island nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. (AP Photo/Amitha Thennakoon)
The country has been hit with massive fuel shortages and high inflation levels. Sri Lanka’s inflation hit 54.6% in June.
Political instability could hurt Sri Lanka’s discussions with the International Monetary Fund, from which they seek a $3 billion bailout, a restructuring of some foreign debt and fund-raising from multilateral and bilateral sources to soften the burden of the worsened dollar scarcity.
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Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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