Protesters Raid Sri Lankan President's Residence

ILUSTRASI UNSPLASH

JAKARTA - Thousands of demonstrators in Colombo, Sri Lanka, broke through police barricades and stormed the presidential residence.

The incident occurred during the biggest wave of protests this year in the crisis-hit country.

Reported ANTARA from Reuters on Saturday, July 9, several demonstrators carrying Sri Lankan flags and wearing helmets stormed into the presidential residence, according to the NewsFirst news TV show.

The island nation of 22 million people is experiencing a severe foreign exchange shortage that has made it difficult to import fuel, food, and medicine and plunged it into its worst financial crisis in seven decades.

Many people blame the country's slump on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Most of the peaceful protests that have been held since March have demanded his resignation.

Thousands of people flooded into the government district of Colombo chanting anti-presidential slogans and removing police barricades as they marched towards Rajapaksa's residence, according to a witness.

Police fired bullets into the air but were unable to stop angry mobs surrounding the presidential residence, witnesses said.

Reuters could not confirm the whereabouts of the president.

Although fuel shortages have halted transport services, demonstrators took buses, trains, and trucks from several parts of the country to reach Colombo.

They protested the government's failure to protect them from economic collapse.

Discontent intensified in recent weeks when the country stopped importing fuel, prompting school closures and the rationing of gasoline and diesel for essential services.

Sampath Perera, a 37-year-old fisherman, boarded a crowded bus from the seaside town of Negombo, 45 km from Colombo, to join the protest.

"We've told Gota many times to come home but he still holds on to his power. We won't stop until he listens to us," Perera said.

Along with millions of others, he has fallen victim to chronic fuel shortages and inflation that hit 54.6 percent in June.

Political instability could disrupt Sri Lanka's talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $3 billion bailout.

The situation has also hampered Sri Lanka's efforts to secure a restructuring of some of its external debt and raise funds from multilateral and bilateral sources to address foreign exchange shortfalls.