Sri Lanka's president and prime minister agreed to resign Saturday after protesters stormed both officials& homes and set fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation's severe economic crisis.Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday, NBC reported. Pressure on both men grew as the economic meltdown set off acute shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel and other necessities.On Saturday, thousands of protesters entered the capital, Colombo, and swarmed into Rajapaksa's fortified residence. Video images showed jubilant crowds splashing in the garden pool, lying on beds and using their cellphone cameras to capture the moment.
Some made tea, while others issued statements from a conference room demanding that the president and prime minister go.It was not clear if Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president's movements, NBC reported.Protesters also targeted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, setting on fire his private residence in an affluent neighborhood in the capital. The announcements by both men to step down were welcomed by protesters as this marked a historic victory for them.
Protesters have been demanding Rajapaksa's resignation for months over his government's failure to address the country's economic collapse.Four other ministers also stepped down over the weekend.
They were Minister of Tourism and Land Harin Fernando, Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara and Minister of Transport and Highways and co-spokesperson for the cabinet Bandula Gunawardena.Minister of Investment Promotion Portfolio Dhammika Perera told CNN he resigned on Sunday.CNN reported the economic turmoil has plunged the Indian Ocean island nation of 22 million into a dire humanitarian crisis, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine and fuel.Saturday's drastic escalation of unrest could meanwhile spell the end of the Rajapaksa family's political dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades.The post Sri Lanka president and prime minister to resign after tumultuous protests first appeared on Ariana News.