(UPDATED) Protesters break into home of Sri Lankan PM, set it on fire [View all]
Last edited Sat Jul 9, 2022, 12:55 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP
By KRISHAN FRANCIS
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Protesters broke into the Sri Lankan prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire, hours after he said he would resign when a new government is formed, in the biggest day of angry demonstrations on Saturday that also saw crowds storming the president’s home and office.
The office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the protesters forced their way into his Colombo home on Saturday evening. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was inside at the time of the attack.
Wickremesinghe said earlier that he will resign only when all parties have agreed on a new government.
He was responding to a call by leaders of political parties represented in Parliament that he and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit, after tens of thousands of people trooped to the capital to vent their fury at the leaders they hold responsible for the nation’s worst economic and political crisis.
A man throws back a tear gas canister after it was fired by police to disperse 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)
Original post: By KRISHAN FRANCIS
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan protesters demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign forced their way into his official residence and nearby office on Saturday, local television reports said, as thousands of people demonstrated in the capital against the island nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory.
It was not clear if Rajapaksa was inside the residence in Colombo but footage shot on mobile phones showed a large number of people inside the well-fortified house and on the grounds outside.
A government spokesman, Mohana Samaranayake, said he had no information about whether Rajapaksa had left the residence.
Hundreds of protesters, some carrying national flags, also entered the president’s office in another nearby building, television footage showed. Protesters blame Rajapaksa for the economic woes and had occupied the entrance to his office building for the past three months calling on him to step down.
Protesters, some holding Sri Lankan flags, gather in a street leading to the presidents official residence 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)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/asia-economy-sri-lanka-074d8194c64572dc80118f88a01df1c2
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