In Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, police used tear gas to disperse protesters on Saturday.
Photo:
Amitha Thennakoon/Associated Press
Protesters demanding the resignation of Sri Lankan President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
breached police barricades and stormed his official residence as public anger mounts over his government’s handling of a deepening economic crisis.
Braving tear gas and water cannons in the capital, Colombo, protesters—many waving the national flag and wearing helmets—also entered the president’s office on Saturday, in one of the largest antigovernment demonstrations in the country this year. Mostly peaceful demonstrations have been held daily outside the office since March.
Mr. Rajapaksa’s whereabouts weren’t immediately clear. He was earlier escorted to safety, Agence France-Presse reported, citing an unnamed defense official. The president’s office and media representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The South Asian nation’s wilting economy has seen Sri Lankans endure months of double-digit inflation, rolling power blackouts and severe shortages of fuel and medicine. Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves are depleted to the point that it can no longer afford to pay for essential imports and the country defaulted on its debt for the first time in its history in May.
Responding to calls by protest organizers to congregate in Colombo for mass demonstrations this weekend, Sri Lankans from nearby towns hit by acute fuel shortages improvised by piling into semitrailer trucks and overcrowded buses to reach the capital.
Television news footage showed the large crowds ignoring warning shots and overrunning barricades as they entered the president’s residence. Some were later seen taking a dip in the compound’s swimming pool.
Police had imposed a curfew in Colombo and other major urban hubs on Friday night but withdrew it on Saturday morning amid objections from lawyers and opposition politicians.
Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe,
who said last month the country’s economy faced complete collapse, called for an emergency meeting of all parties to resolve the political turmoil, as a group of 16 members of Parliament from the president’s own party signed a joint letter calling for the president’s resignation.
Write to Philip Wen at philip.wen@wsj.com
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