A crowd of protesters stormed the residence of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister on Saturday night in Colombo, setting it ablaze, police and the Prime Minister's entourage said.
"Protesters stormed the private residence of the Prime Minister, Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and set it on fire," the Prime Minister's office said."
Prime Minister willing to resign
The anger of the protesters was apparently not even stopped by the Prime Minister's announcement that he is willing to resign in order to initiate the formation of a multi-party government.
The announcement followed an escalation of anti-government protests that forced the country's president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee his official residence in Colombo on Saturday, minutes before thousands of protesters stormed it in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in the country in recent months.
They invaded the presidential palace and the presidential residence
Specifically, the president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled his official residence in Colombo today, Saturday, minutes before thousands of protesters stormed it.
Some protesters, carrying Sri Lankan flags and helmets, stormed the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, according to images reported by local TV network NewsFirst.
As reported by private TV network Sirasa TV, a crowd of protesters have stormed the presidential palace, which was until recently heavily guarded.
A Defence Services source said Rajapaksa remains Sri Lanka's president and has been taken to a safe location where the military is protecting him.
Earlier, thousands of people had flocked to the Colombo district, where the government buildings are located, chanting slogans against the president and breaking several police barricades until they reached his residence.
Police fired in the air but failed to prevent the angry crowd from surrounding the presidential palace, an eyewitness said.
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Video reportedly shows the president leaving the country
Meanwhile, video circulating on social media shows a luxury car and men unloading suitcases, which they are carrying to a Sri Lankan Coast Guard boat, with reports that they are staff of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is leaving the country.
Πηγή: in.gr
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