Protesters in Sri Lanka storm prime minister’s office as state of emergency declared

Sri Lankan protesters stormed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Colombo office as the government declared a state of emergency.

Hundreds of protesters demanded Wickremesinghe’s immediate resignation while marching past rows of riot police surrounding his office.

Riot police fired several rounds of tear gas into the crowds as protesters climbed over the compound’s fences.

It comes after president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the country on Wednesday (13 July) amid a devastating economic crisis that has triggered severe shortages of food, medicine, and fuel across the country.

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