Sri Lanka has totally collapsed as the Prime Minister declares the nation bankrupt. Angry Sri Lankans stormed the Presidential Palace. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled the country on board a navy vessel.
Protestors participate in an anti-government demonstration outside the President's office in Colombo on Saturday.
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his resignation on Saturday, hours after a crowd of angry protesters chased him from his residence, as months of frustration brought on by an unprecedented economic crisis boiled over.
Hundreds of thousands of people massed in the capital Colombo 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.
At around the same time, the leader had boarded a naval craft at the Colombo port and was taken to the island's southern waters, where he let it be known he was finally bowing to months of calls for his resignation.
"To ensure a peaceful transition, the president said he will step down on July 13," parliamentary speaker Mahinda Abeywardana said in a televised statement.
Rajapaksa had to be extracted from his residence by troops who fired into the air to keep the crowd outside at bay.
Soon after they stormed the presidential palace, Rajapaksa's nearby seafront office also fell into the hands of protesters. (AFP photos) | via Agence France-Presse
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