Sri Lanka PM Ranil Wickremesinghe resigns amid hostile protests

Sri Lanka’s prime minister announced his resignation Saturday as thousands of protestors descended on the country’s capital, storming through police barricades and invading the presidential palace.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the country’s finance minister, took to Twitter to say that he was stepping aside to make way for an all-party government to take over the country in the wake of the protests over rampant inflation and fuel and food shortages.

“To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government,” he tweeted. “To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister.”

Earlier in the day, thousands of protestors broke through police barriers and stormed the official residence of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the commercial capital of Colombo. Viral video footage showed protestors wandering through the residence and swimming in the pool.

Rajapaksa, who has not resigned, was removed by security forces and is in a safe location, according to reports.

The island of 22 million is suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of fuel, food and medicine. Protests have been building since March throughout the country.