Protesters stormed the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday amid ongoing demonstrations against a government struggling to deal with the country's economic crisis.
Videos shared on social media showed protesters packing the hallways of the presidential residence and jumping into the house's swimming pool. Rajapaksa, whose family has dominated Sri Lankan politics for much of the past two decades, was reportedly evacuated from the residence the previous day. His current whereabouts are unknown.
The New York Times reports that at least 42 people have been injured in clashes with security forces in the capital city of Colombo.
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Inflation in Sri Lanka is expected to hit 70 percent in the coming months, and the island nation of 22 million people is facing severe shortages of fuel, food, and medicine. According to Reuters, foreign exchange reserves, which could be used to buy these essentials from other countries, have dried up entirely.
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