Sri Lankan crisis: Protesters set PM Ranil Wickremesinghe's residence on fire

Protesters on Saturday set the private residence of Sri Lankan prime minister on fire in Colombo, multiple media reports said.

A mob stormed into Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's home in Colombo on Saturday evening and set it ablaze, AFP quoted police and his office.

"Protesters have broken into the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and have set it on fire," his office said in a statement.

The incident comes hours after Wickremesinghe said he was resigning after party leaders in



parliament demanded both he and president Gotabaya Rajapaksa step down.

Wickremesinghe said he suggested to the president to have an all-party government, but didn't say anything about Rajapaksa's whereabouts. Opposition parties in Parliament were currently discussing the formation of a new government.

“Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, a food shortage, we have the head of the World Food Program coming here and we have several matters to discuss with the IMF. Therefore, if this government leaves there should be another government,” he said.