Sri Lanka Protesters Take Over PM's Office Amid Reports President Fled Country - Videos
08:08 GMT 13.07.2022 (Updated: 09:35 GMT 13.07.2022)
© AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
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On Monday, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president, submitted resignation, planning to step down on Wednesday, July 13. Sri Lanka was rocked by massive protests amid economic crisis and fuel shortage.
Demonstrators have taken over the Sri Lanka’s prime minister's office, according to Sputnik correspondent. Protesters entered the building at around 14:00 local time (08:30 GMT) and placed national flags there. Security forces did not use water cannons there were located near the office, according to the correspondent.
Earlier in the day, President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president in accordance with article 37.1 of the constitution, media reports have said, citing speaker of parliament.
"Because of his absence from the country, President Rajapaksa told me that he has appointed the prime minister to act as the president in line with the constitution,” Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said as quoted by the News18.
Sri Lankan protesters are making attempts to storm the prime minister’s office in Colombo on Wednesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported, adding that the security forces are responding with tear gas.
The protesters are trying to break into the territory of the office by climbing over fences and breaking them, according to the correspondent.
The protesters are trying to break into the territory of the office by climbing over fences and breaking them, according to the correspondent.
US Embassy in Colombo cancels consular services as a precaution for the next two days amid protests, according to reports.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, imposed a curfew in the Western Province which incorporates capital Colombo and declared a state of emergency in the country.
Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital, was rocked by thousand-strong protests this past weekend, caused by public dissatisfaction with the government's inefficiency in fighting the economic crisis. Angry crowds tore through barricades surrounding the president's residence, climbed over a fence and took control of the area. Rajapaksa was evacuated.
Following the unrest, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called an emergency meeting of political party leaders, who demanded that both the prime minister and president resign immediately.
Following the unrest, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called an emergency meeting of political party leaders, who demanded that both the prime minister and president resign immediately.
On Monday, the president submitted his resignation, planning to step down on Wednesday, July 13.
In mid-April, Sri Lanka defaulted on its external debt for an interim period, pending a restructuring of the obligations under an IMF-supported economic adjustment program. The recession is attributed to ineffective government policies and foreign exchange shortages caused by a clampdown on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. It left the country unable to buy enough fuel, with people facing an acute scarcity of food and basic necessities, heating fuel, and gas. Many regions have power outages.
