Sri Lankan protestors overrun presidential palace

Protest organizers in Sri Lanka handed back the president and prime minister's residences to the government on Thursday evening after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa submitted his resignation.

A demonstrator poses for photographs where President Gotabaya Rajapaksa used to hold main events at the president's residence after Rajapaksa fled amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Protests against the economic crisis have simmered for months and came to a head last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksa family and allies for runaway inflation, shortages of basic goods and corruption.

People wait to visit the president's house after demonstrators entered the building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.

The announcement of Rajapaksa's resignation triggered jubilation in the commercial capital Colombo where protesters massed outside the presidential secretariat, defying a city-wide curfew.

Protestors sit inside a conference room after entering Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022.

Crowds set off firecrackers, shouted slogans and danced ecstatically at the Gota Go Gama protest site, named mockingly after Rajapaksa's first name.

A man jumps into the swimming pool as people visit the president's house the day after demonstrators entered the building, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka July 10, 2022.

"The whole country will celebrate today," Damitha Abeyrathne, an activist, said. "It's a big victory."

People roam around the presidential palace after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

"We never thought we would get this country free from them," she added, referring to the Rajapaksa family who dominated the South Asian country's politics for two decades.

A woman takes a selfie in front of a painting inside the presidential residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022.

Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday and then headed on to Singapore on Thursday on a Saudi Arabian airline flight, according to a person familiar with the situation.

A man lies in the garden as people visit the president's house the day after demonstrators entered the building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

The Maldives government confirmed late on Thursday that the country had granted diplomatic clearance for a Sri Lanka Air Force aircraft that carried President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his spouse, on a transit visit.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry said Rajapaksa had entered the country on a private visit, and had not sought or been granted asylum.

Demonstrators sleep in a bedroom at the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Rajapaksa's decision on Wednesday to make his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the acting president triggered more protests, with demonstrators storming parliament and the premier's office demanding that he quit too.

Two kids play the piano inside the president's house after demonstrators entered the building, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

"We want Ranil to go home," Malik Perera, a 29-year-old rickshaw driver who took part in the parliament protests, said earlier on Thursday. "They have sold the country, we want a good person to take over, until then we won't stop."

People visit the president's house after demonstrators entered the building, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.

Inside the president's residence early on Thursday, ordinary Sri Lankans wandered the halls, taking in the building's extensive art collection, luxury cars and swimming pool.

A man holds shirts belonging to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inside the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Protestors handed back the residences to the government Thursday evening because "holding the captured places holds no symbolic meaning anymore" with the president out of the country, one organizer told Reuters.

A man tries gym equipment inside the home gym at the presidential palace the day after demonstrators entered the building, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Another organizer, Kalum Amaratunga, said a crackdown could be imminent after Wickremesinghe branded some protesters "fascists" in an address the previous evening.

Demonstrators watch TV in one of the bedrooms of the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country's acting president on Friday, a role he had already taken on after Rajapaksa fled the country.

Demonstrators sleep on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's bed at the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

The public has welcomed Rajapaksa's resignation but insists Wickremesinghe should also step aside.

People stand by a pool at the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

"I am happy that Gotabaya has finally left. He should have resigned earlier, without causing much problems,” Velauynatha Pillai, 73, a retired bank employee, said as patriotic songs were blaring from loudspeakers at the main protest site.

People play inside a bedroom at the prime minister's residence after demonstrators entered the building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

But he added that "Ranil is a supporter of Gotabaya and other Rajapaksas. He was helping them. He also must go.”

People rest inside the prime minister's residence after demonstrators entered the building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

The military warned Thursday that it had powers to respond in case of chaos – a message some found concerning.

A protestor uses a mobile phone inside the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022.

Police said one person was killed and 84 injured in clashes between riot police and protesters on Wednesday near the parliament and prime minister's office while people demanded the ouster of both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe.

People rest inside the prime minister's residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

The army said two soldiers were seriously injured when they were attacked by protesters near parliament on Wednesday evening and that their weapons and magazines were snatched.

People cook in the garden of the prime minister's residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Police said the man who died was a 26-year-old protester who succumbed after he was injured near the premier's office.

A protestor asks people to vacate the president's house following the news of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa leaving the country in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 14, 2022.

Headline inflation hit 54.6% last month in the country and the central bank has warned that it could rise to 70% in the coming months.

Demonstrators rest in the garden at the prime minister's residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.

Sri Lanka had begun preliminary discussions with the International Monetary Fund about a potential bailout loan, but these have been interrupted by the latest government chaos.

People rest inside the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022.

IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice told reporters on Thursday that staff were still in contact with technical-level government officials but hoped to resume high-level dialogue "as soon as possible."

A boy poses for a photo on a podium at the president's house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022.