Protesters set fire to the residence of the Sri Lankan PM

Burning

Protesters set fire to the residence of the Sri Lankan PM.

Protesters entered the private residence of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and set it on fire.

Wickremesinghe was not at the residence at the time the act was committed as he had earlier moved to a safer location.

A video posted on Twitter showed the residence engulfed in flames as crowds gathered at the scene.

The private residence on “Fifth Lane” in the capital is where the prime minister and his family live. It is separated from the official residence, called “Temple Trees”.

Wickremesinghe earlier said he was ready to step down and make way for an inclusive government.

Otherwise, Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst financial crisis in seven decades as its foreign reserves fell to record lows, with dollars running out to pay for essential imports including food, medicine and fuel.

The government recently took drastic measures to deal with the crisis, including implementing a four-day work week for public sector workers to give them time to grow their crops. However, the measures are doing little to ease the struggles faced by many in the country.

In several major cities, including the capital Colombo, hundreds continue to queue for hours to buy fuel, sometimes clashing with police and the military as they wait.