Sri Lankan Protesters Break Into Presidential Palace And Swim In Pool

Kedean BrownJuly 9, 2022

On Saturday thousands of enraged protesters broke through barricades and stormed the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, this comes after months of protest that began in March, calling for his resignation.

Reports say that president Rajapaksa vacated the residence as a safety precaution on Friday due to the increasing protests. In videos and photographs taken by the protesters they can be seen making their way through the Palace chanting, and waving the Sri Lankan flag, and dozens of them can also be seen swimming in the President’s pool.

The official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has only been in office since May, was also stormed on Saturday, and then set on fire. Wickremesinghe lives in a private home with his family and was not there at the time of the attack. Both men have announced their resignation, with Rajapaksa remaining as Prime Minister until Wednesday, to ensure a smooth transfer of power.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of a severe foreign exchange shortage that has limited imports of fuel, food, and medicine, plunging it into the worst financial turmoil the country has seen in decades.

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Kedean BrownJuly 9, 2022