Summary

  • Home of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been set on fire

  • Ranil Wickremesinghe had agreed to resign, his office said, to make way for an all-party government

  • Thousands of protesters earlier stormed the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo

  • Police fired shots in the air but could not stop crowds from overrunning the residence

  • There have been months of protests over his handling of the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka’s history

  • The country has run out of foreign currency and is struggling to import basics like fuel, food and medicine

  • Many blame the Rajapaksa family, in power for years, for mismanaging the economy and borrowing heavily from China

Live Reporting

Edited by Siobhan Toman

  1. How did events unfold?

    Security forces fire tear gas to disperse an anti government protest rally, calling for the resignation of the president over the alleged failure to address the economic crisis, near the President"s house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 09 July 2022.epa

    Thousands of heavily armed troops and police were deployed in Sri Lanka's capital on Friday ahead of the planned protests.

    The authorities tried to stop them by announcing a curfew on Friday night but it was lifted after opposition parties and civil society groups strongly objected. The bar association threatened to sue the police chief.

    Demonstrators began gathering near the official residence of the president on Saturday, having ignored the order to stay at home. Some had even forced railway staff to run trains to take them to Colombo, AFP news agency reported.

    Police fired tear gas to try to disperse the vast crowds and fired shots in the air. But so many people had turned up for the demonstration and the authorities could not hold them back.

    Footage on social media soon showed people roaming through the president's house, lounging in its stately rooms and jumping and splashing in his pool.

    There were no immediate reports of injuries. Over the past few months a number of Sri Lankans have been killed in the demonstrations, and hundreds hurt.

  2. Watch: Protesters in presidential residence

    Sri Lanka crisis: Demonstrators take over presidential residence

    Thousands of demonstrators have made their way into the Colombo residence of President Rajapaska, as shown in this footage.

    The protesters crowded into the building, roving through bedrooms, bathrooms and grand halls.

  3. Why are Sri Lankans angry?

    There have been months of protests as the country literally ran out of foreign currency - and it now can't afford to buy basics, such as fuel, food and medicine.

    It's the worst economic crisis in the island since independence more than 70 years ago.

    The president and his family, who have been in power for years, are widely blamed.

    Read about the daily struggle being endured by millions - and the toll it is taking on people.

    People wait in a line on a pavement near a distributor to buy kerosene oil for their cookers due to domestic gas shortage, amid the country"s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 24, 2022.Reuters

    Life has become a long queue for Sri Lankans - the lack of cash means fuel, food and other basics are in short supply

  4. Watch: Demonstrators cool off in president's pool

    Months of mounting anger boiled over on Saturday - here you can see crowds taking a dip in the pool that used to be used by the president after they stormed his residence.

    Sri Lanka crisis: Protesters swim in president's pool

  5. President Rajapaksa's whereabouts are unclear

    It's not clear where President Gotabaya Rajapkaksa is right now - but defence officials say he was whisked away before crowds entered his residence.

    "The president was escorted to safety," an unnamed senior defence official told AFP news agency. "He is still the president, he is being protected by a military unit."

    Demonstrators protest inside the President"s House, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, amid the country"s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in this screengrab obtained from social media video on July 9, 2022.Reuters

    Hundreds of protesters made it into the president's residence

  6. Welcome to our live coverage

    Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka have stormed the residence of the president in Colombo, after months of mounting anger over the country’s financial crisis. Our news story is here.

    Stay with us for updates.