Published: Less than 1 hour ago
Updated: Less than 20 minutes ago
Protesters have stormed the entrance to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence in Sri Lanka and stormed the palace.
The president must have escaped.
Television broadcasts in Sri Lanka show how protesters demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksas, and then storm his official home in the capital Colombo.
The president must have been escorted to safe custody, according to a source in the country’s defense. According to the source, the police have fired warning shots to try to stop the protesters.
Curfew was defied
Sri Lanka has been under a curfew since Friday, after opposition parties, activists and the bar association threatened to sue the police chief. On Saturday, it was lifted by the police.
By then, protesters had already defied the ban and even forced railway operators to deploy trains to take them to Saturday’s planned demonstrations in Colombo, according to authorities.
“The curfew was not a deterrent, on the contrary, it encouraged even more people to take to the streets in protest,” a senior defense official told AFP.
Thousands of soldiers have been bussed into the capital to bolster police.
The UN calls for calm
Sri Lanka has been short of food and fuel for months and the country is often hit by long power outages. Inflation is skyrocketing and there is not enough foreign currency to be able to import important goods.
Protesters have long blamed the crisis on President Rajapaksa and demanded his resignation.
The UN calls on both authorities and protesters to remain calm. In May, confrontations during peaceful demonstrations killed several people and injured hundreds.