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Sri Lanka's president to resign after being chased from home
The events on Saturday were the culmination of months of anti-government protests fuelled by an unprecedented economic crisis that bankrupted the South Asian island nation, and fury over the ruling Rajapaksa clan's corruption.
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Protestors participate in an anti-government demonstration outside the President's office in Colombo on July 9, 2022. Sri Lanka's beleaguered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo, a top defence source told AFP, before protesters gathered to demand his resignation stormed the compound.
(AFP/AFP)
S
ri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was preparing Sunday to finally give up power after he fled from protesters who stormed his home, forcing him to announce his resignation.
The events on Saturday were the culmination of months of anti-government protests fuelled by an unprecedented economic crisis that bankrupted the South Asian island nation, and fury over the ruling Rajapaksa clan's corruption.
Hundreds of thousands of people had massed in the capital, Colombo, on Saturday to demand the government take responsibility for mismanaging the nation's finances, and for crippling food and fuel shortages.
After storming the gates of the presidential palace, a throng of protesters walked through its rooms, with some among the boisterous crowd jumping into the compound's pool.
Others were seen laughing and lounging in the stately bedrooms of the residence, with one pulling out what he claimed was a pair of Rajapaksa's underwear.
After fleeing, Rajapaksa boarded a naval craft at the Colombo port and was taken to the island's southern waters, where he said would finally bow to demands for him to step down.
"To ensure a peaceful transition, the president said he will step down on July 13," parliamentary speaker Mahinda Abeywardana said in a televised statement.
