Sri Lanka crisis: Thousands of protestors storm President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's home - See pics
Pictures from inside Gotabaya Rajapaksa's house showed hundreds of protesters splashing in the swimming pool and sitting on a four-poster bed and sofas.
Thousands of protesters on Saturday (July 9, 2022) stormed into Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo and demanded his resignation over the island nation's worst economic crisis in seven decades. Security forces were unable to hold back the crowd of chanting protesters, who also forced their way through heavy metal gates into the Finance Ministry and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's sea-front offices.
Thousands of protesters stormed into Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence
Security forces were unable to hold back chanting protesters
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not in his official residence
Hundreds of protesters splashing in the swimming pool at Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's house
Hundreds of protestors entered Sri Lankan presidential residence
Protestors were also seen draped in Sri Lankan national flag
At least 39 people injured and hospitalised during protests
Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya with protesters
Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya also joined protesters.
The Indian Ocean island of 22 million people, is struggling under a severe foreign exchange shortage that has limited essential imports of fuel, food and medicine, plunging it into the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.
Soaring inflation, which has heaped hardship on the population, reached a record 54.6% in June and is likely to hit 70% in the coming months.