An angry crowd storms the house of Sri Lankan president Gotabaya as PM Ranil Wickremesinghe announces resigning
The embattled president’s whereabouts were not known after he was moved out of his residence on Friday ahead of Saturday’s protests
An angry crowd storms the house of Sri Lankan president Gotabaya as PM Ranil Wickremesinghe announces resigning
He will stay at sea until it is safe for him to return to the mainland, according to a naval officer from Sri Lanka on Saturday.
According to the official, this contingency plan had to be activated earlier than expected.
After being moved out of his residence on Friday ahead of Saturday’s protests, the embattled president’s whereabouts were unknown.
Since protesters occupied the entrance to his office in early April, Rajapaksa has used the President’s House as his residence and office.
President Obama was moved out of his residence on Friday because of Saturday’s protests, sources said. Both his office and official residence are now occupied by protesters, making his whereabouts unknown.
The Sri Lankan Navy Ship Gajabahu anchored at the Colombo Port was reported to have been rushed with luggage on Saturday, according to News 1st.
SLNS Sindurala and SLNS Gajabahu were boarded by a group at the Colombo Port, it said.
Neither he nor those who boarded the vessels could provide details of the manifest.
Since running out of foreign currency to import essentials, Sri Lanka has experienced food and fuel shortages, lengthy blackouts, and galloping inflation.
As a result of the island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis, huge crowds poured into the capital for the demonstration.
Activists, the bar association, and opposition parties threatened to sue the police chief for issuing a curfew on Friday.
The stay-home order was ignored by thousands of protesters, who even forced railway authorities to operate trains taking them to Saturday’s rally in Colombo, officials said.
A cabinet meeting was called by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Saturday to discuss how a potential power vacuum could be addressed quickly.
Wickremesinghe invited political party leaders to attend the meeting and asked for parliament to convene urgently to discuss the crisis, according to a statement from his office.
If Rajapaksa resigns, Wickremesinghe will succeed him.