Sri Lanka: Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agrees to step down as protesters storm palace

The prime minister of Sri Lanka has agreed to step down, his office said on the same day anti-government protesters stormed the president’s residence.

Ranil Wickremesinghe told party leaders - who had demanded his resignation - that he would leave office once they all agree on forming a new government, according to his spokesperson.

It came after tens of thousands of protesters broke into and ransacked Sri Lanka’s presidential palace to vent their fury against a leader they hold responsible for the nation’s worst economic crisis.

At the same time, hundreds of protesters stormed the president’s office nearby, where demonstrators have been camping outside for months.

Leaders of political parties have called for both the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Mr Wickremesinghe - who had only been in office since May - to resign.

The prime minister’s office said on Saturday: “Wickremesinghe has told the party leaders that he is willing to resign as prime minister and make way for an all-party government to take over.”

He has been moved to a secure location amid the unrest, a government source told Reuters.

Mr Wickremesinghe took office as prime minister - taking over from the president’s older brother - in the middle of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, which has seen months of protests.

Much of the anger has been directed at the Rajapaksa family, which has ruled the country for much of the past two decades.

Frustration culminated in one of the biggest anti-government marches in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Saturday, with protesters calling for the president to resign.

Crowds pushed against barricades to storm Mr Rajapaksa’s residence to flood the corridors and rooms.

Images showed protesters carrying flags and taking photos inside the building, while others lay on the grass in the palace grounds.

Some even jumped into the president’s swimming pool.

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