Tens of thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka's commercial capital Colombo filled the street in front of the presidential secretariat office on Saturday (July 9) amid months of mounting public anger over the country's worst economic crisis in seven decades, Reuters reports.
Some protesters, holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets, broke into the president's residence, video footage from local TV news showed.
Thousands also broke open the gates of the finance ministry, which has been the site of a sit-in protest for months, and entered the premises, TV footage showed.
A Facebook livestream from inside the president's house showed hundreds of protesters, some draped in flags, packing into rooms and corridors, shouting slogan's against Rajapaksa.
Military personnel and police at both locations were unable to hold back the crowd, as they chanted slogans asking President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.
Two defense ministry sources said President Rajapaksa was removed from the official residence on Friday for his safety ahead of the planned rally over the weekend.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday summoned an emergency party leaders meeting to discuss the situation and come to a swift resolution, his office said in a statement.
He has requested the speaker to summon parliament, the statement said.
Wickremesinghe has also been moved to a secure location, a government source told Reuters.
