Sri Lankan crisis: Protesters set PM Ranil Wickremesinghe's residence on fire

Sri Lankan crisis: Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters stormed the residence of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. After storming the gates of the presidential palace, hundreds of people could be seen walking through its rooms, with some among the crowd jumping into the compound's pool.

Updated on: Jul 9, 2022, 21:52:49 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Aryan Prakash

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Protesters on Saturday set the private residence of Sri Lankan prime minister on fire in Colombo, multiple media reports said.

Demonstrators protest inside the President's House premises. (REUTERS)

A mob stormed into Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's home in Colombo on Saturday evening and set it ablaze, AFP quoted police and his office.

"Protesters have broken into the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and have set it on fire," his office said in a statement.

The incident comes hours after Wickremesinghe said he was resigning after party leaders in parliament demanded both he and president Gotabaya Rajapaksa step down.

Wickremesinghe said he suggested to the president to have an all-party government, but didn't say anything about Rajapaksa's whereabouts. Opposition parties in Parliament were currently discussing the formation of a new government.

“Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, a food shortage, we have the head of the World Food Program coming here and we have several matters to discuss with the IMF. Therefore, if this government leaves there should be another government,” he said.

Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters stormed the residence of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. After storming the gates of the presidential palace, hundreds of people could be seen in live broadcasts on social media walking through its rooms, with some among the boisterous crowd jumping into the compound's pool, AFP reported.

Not long earlier, troops guarding the residence fired in the air to hold the crowd back until Rajapaksa was safely removed.

(With AP, AFP inputs)

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