New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence as thousands of protestors barged into his house in Colombo on Saturday, as per reports. Amid the mounting protests demanding his resignation, a video has emerged that shows suitcases being loaded by three men on a Sri Lanka naval ship Gajabahu. According to local media reports, the suitcases belong to President Rajapaksa.
“The Harbour Master at the Colombo Port said that a group boarded the SLNS Sindurala and SLNS Gajabahu and left the port,” News1 Channel reported.
Social media footage apparently filmed at #Colombo port shows luggage being loaded to #SriLanka @srilanka_navy ship SLNS GAJABAHU raising fears of a VVIP or a family is leaving the country. A voice in the background can be heard in Sinhala saying ‘Gota is leaving’ #SriLankaCrisis pic.twitter.com/xuFIt29qN2
— LankaFiles (@lankafiles) July 9, 2022
Earlier, another video went viral on the social media showing a VIP motorcade reaching the Colombo international airport, where a Sri Lanka Airlines aircraft was parked.
Meanwhile, other visuals on social media emerged showing angry protesters storming the president’s residence while chanting ‘Gota (the president’s nickname) go home’. Outside the building, the barricades were overturned and a black flag was hoisted on a pole as mark of protest against the growing economic woes in the island nation.
Notably, amid the chaos, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the Party Leaders that he is prepared to leave as Prime Minister and allow an all-Party Government to take over, as per the PMO, news agency ANI reported.
According to the Sri Lankan local newspaper Daily Mirror, multiple gunshots were heard in the air, and police deployed tear gas in vain to disperse demonstrators who encircled the presidential residence.
According to reports, two persons were wounded.