Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Sri Lanka after months of unrest over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s handling of the country’s economic crisis.
The island nation of 22 million people has been mired by lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages and surging inflation in its most painful downturn on record.
The island nation of 22 million people has been mired by lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages and surging inflation in its most painful downturn on record
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he will step down on 13 July following protests that shook the country today. It comes after Rajapaksa’s official residence was earlier stormed by protesters demanding his resignation after months of unrest over Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
Also, the private home of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe in Colombo was under siege and set on fire just hours after protesters stormed the president’s official residence in the nation’s capital. Wickremesinghe has offered to resign and form an all-party government in the wake of massive public anger over an unprecedented economic crisis that has brought Sri Lanka to its knees.
At least 39 people, including two police officers, have so far been injured and hospitalised during the protests, hospital sources told Reuters.
Both leaders have reportedly moved to secure locations.
Background
The storming of the Sri Lankan president’s official residence today comes after months of protests as the country literally ran out of foreign currency.
This meant basics, including fuel, food and medicine, have been increasingly scarce.
This led the Sri Lankan government to suspend sales of fuel to ordinary people until Sunday. It’s thought to be the first country to do so since the 1970s.
Last weekend, officials said it had less than a week’s worth of fuel left for essential services like buses, trains and medical vehicles.
Schools have closed and the country’s 22 million residents have been asked to work from home.
Shortages of food and fuel have caused prices to soar. Inflation is now running at 30%.
There have been power cuts, and the lack of medicines has brought the health system to the verge of collapse.
