Protesters storm Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, hours after the embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, forced out by a popular uprising that has targeted the top leadership over the country’s dire economic crisis. Rajapaksa went to the Maldives just before dawn Wednesday on a military aircraft with his wife, four days after he went into hiding, as protesters, furious over his refusal to step down, overran his residence and office. But Rajapaksa’s exit did not appease protesters, who were incensed he had named Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, seen as a close ally, as acting president.
In Pictures: Sri Lanka in Crisis
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Sri Lankans living in the Maldives stage a demonstration in Male, July 13, 2022, to protest for the arrival of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is fleeing his own country.
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Protesters stand on top of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe 's office, demanding he resign after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid economic crisis in Colombo, July 13, 2022.
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Demonstrators gather outside the office of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo, July 13, 2022.
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An injured protester reacts in pain in an ambulance as he is taken to a hospital during clashes with police near parliament in Colombo, July 13, 2022.