Sri Lankan protesters break into President's House; 30 injured during clash

Colombo: Sri Lankan protesters demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday entered his official residence here after putting down the barricades.

Police used tear gas and water cannons and opened fire to disperse protesters this morning to prevent protesters from entering. However, the protesters entered the President's House after putting down the barricades.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was facing calls for resignation since March was using the President’s House as his residence and office since protesters came to occupy the entrance to his office early April.

President Gotabaya had already vacated the premises before the protests began in Colombo.

Meanwhile, at least 30 persons including two police officers were injured in clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters who had gathered in large numbers in the central Colombo’s Fort area demanding the resignation of President Gotabya Rajapaksa and were admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo.

Tens of thousands of protesters broke police barriers blocking the President’s House where Rajapaksa has been housed since late March when the island-wide protests raged calling for his resignation.

Political and economic instability could potentially derail Sri Lanka’s much-awaited USD 3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned analysts.

Last week, Wickremesinghe announced in Parliament that Sri Lanka would present a debt restructuring programme to the IMF by August to secure a bailout package while underlining that negotiations with the global lender were more complex and difficult than in the past because the country was “bankrupt”.

The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026.

Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.