The Sri Lankan president fled and his residence was occupied by protesters

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo on Saturday, minutes before he was attacked by protesters demanding his resignation, a security source told AFP. “The President was escorted to safety“, pointed to this source.”He’s still the president, and he’s protected by a military unit“, she added.

Local television channels showed images of hundreds of people climbing the gates of the presidential palace in the center of the capital. Tens of thousands of people had previously demonstrated to demand the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is responsible for the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

Tens of thousands of people had previously demonstrated to demand the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is responsible for the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

Security forces had imposed a curfew on Friday to prevent protesters from taking to the streets, but the measure was lifted after opposition parties, human rights activists and the country’s bar association threatened to sue the police chief. The curfew was ignored by protesters anyway, some of whom forced railway officials to take a train to Colombo on Saturday to take part in the rally, officials told AFP.

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