Sri Lankan protesters storm PM’s office amid crisis

By KRISHAN FRANCIS and KRUTIKA PATHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Protesters stormed the Sri Lankan prime minster’s office after the president fled the country only hours before he was to step down amid a devastating economic crisis that has triggered severe shortages of food and fuel. In recent days, protesters have occupied several government buildings demanding their top leaders step down. An immigration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards left aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force plane bound for the the Maldives. Rajapaksa had agreed to resign under pressure. Protesters are demanding that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe step down immediately. He said he would leave once a new government was in place.