Sri Lanka: Protesters Storm President’s Home
Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo broke through police barricades and stormed the president’s official residence on Saturday in one of the largest anti-government marches in the crisis-hit country this year.
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday reportedly fled his official residence as protesters surrounded the house in the capital city of Colombo.
The developments were reported just shortly after the Sri Lankan Police fired tear gas shells at protesters in the commercial capital to control thousands gathered for one of the largest anti-government marches in the crisis-hit country this year, the Hindustan Times reported.
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Some protesters, carrying Sri Lankan flags and helmets, broke into the president’s residence, video footage and photos from local news channels showed.
Hundreds also milled about on the grounds outside the colonial-era white-washed building. No security officials were visible.
At least 21 people, including two policemen were injured and hospitalized in the ongoing protests, hospital sources told Reuters.
Scores of protesters packed in buses, trains and trucks from across the island nation took to the streets of Colombo to demonstrate against the government for its failure to protect them from economic ruin. Demonstrators carried black and national flags and shouted “Gota go home,” using a common shortened version of the president’s name.
They marched towards a police and military security cordon surrounding key buildings, including the President’s House and Finance Ministry, near Colombo’s scenic coastline.
Demonstrators at the oceanfront protest site included civil rights activists, religious leaders, artists and others, from across the South Asian island.
With a population of 22 million, Sri Lanka has been shaken to its core in the aftermath of a severe foreign exchange shortage that plunged the nation into its worst financial crises in seven decades.
Sri Lanka is in the worst tailspin of its independent history, with inflation hitting 70 percent. With a never-ending struggle over essential imports like fuel, food and medicine, many have been blaming President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the devastation, demanding his resignation.
