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Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have agreed to resign after thousands of demonstrators have attacked the presidential residence to protest the serious economic crisis in South Asian countries.
Protesters in the city of Colombo reportedly broke through a police barricade on Saturday, attacked the president’s residence and office, and set fire to the prime minister’s private residence.
Sri Lankan Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywaldena said Rajapaksa had agreed to resign on Wednesday.
Previously, protesters broke into Rajapaksa’s dwelling with the Sri Lankan flag and helmet, sat in bed and swam in the pool. “The president was safely escorted,” a senior defense source told AFP.
With about 22 million people, the country suffers from a serious foreign exchange shortage, limiting significant imports of fuels, food and medicine. This shortage put the island in the worst financial situation in 70 years.
“To ensure the continuation of the government, including the security of all citizens, I accept the best recommendations of today’s leader and give way to the government of all parties,” Wickremesinghe tweeted. “To make this easier, I will resign as Prime Minister.”
Rajapaksa has been criticized by many for the decline of the country’s economy. Protests have taken place since March when demonstrators demanded the resignation of the president. Saturday’s protest is considered one of the biggest rebel marches of the year.
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Video from Sri Lankan media showed protesters rushing to the president’s residence.
Thousands of demonstrators broke into Colombo’s government district and destroyed several police barricades before arriving at Rajapaksa’s residence, according to witnesses.
Police fired in the air, but witnesses said the protesters could not stop surrounding the president’s house.
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Transportation services have been stalled due to severe fuel shortages on Asian islands, but demonstrators still arrive in Colombo by bus, train or truck from different parts of the country to protest the government’s economic failure. Did.
Poor countries have stopped shipping fuel in recent weeks. This closed schools and restricted gasoline and diesel for services considered essential.
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The country is suffering from major fuel shortages and high inflation levels. Inflation in Sri Lanka reached 54.6% in June.
Political instability could hurt talks between Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund, from which the $ 3 billion bailout, restructuring of external debt, and funding from multilateral and bilateral sources exacerbated the dollar shortage. You can ease the burden.
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Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.