Sri Lanka plunged into a deep crisis on Saturday triggered by an economic collapse.
It was a chaotic day as president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in the country’s capital, Colombo, hours before hundreds of thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace.
“The president has reportedly been moved to a safer location,” the BBC reported.
Indian TV news channel NDTV reported that Rajapaksa was moved to the army headquarters on Friday night itself “following intelligence reports that the situation at Saturday’s planned rally “would go out of control.”
He, however, hadn’t resigned as president till last reports came in.
By evening, prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s private residence was set ablaze by a section of the protesters.
This happened hours after Wickramasinghe said he will resign to make way for an all-party government that could handle the situation more effectively.
Wickramasinghe took charge less than two months before, inheriting the rubble of Sri Lankan economy from his predecessor Mahinda Rajapkasa.
On July 5, the prime minister had declared that the island nation was “bankrupt.” This seems to have intensified the months-long protest that has swept Sri Lanka, culminating in today’s implosion.
Visuals of thousands of protesters entering the president’s home today flooded social media, with some showing them taking selfies inside the seaside facility while many frolicked in a swimming po
The protests, however, remained largely peaceful, playing musical instruments and singing songs. One parliamentarian, Rejitha Senaratne, was reportedly hectored by some angry persons in Colombo.
