Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has announced he will step down after protesters stormed his official residence and set the prime minister’s house on fire.
Neither he nor PM Ranil Wickremesinghe were in the buildings at the time.
The announcement was following invasion of the capital Colombo by protesters demanding for his resignation.
The protests have been going on for months over alleged economic mismanagement.
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The head of state has said that he will exit office on July 13 while his premier has also agreed to step down.
The president made the decision to step down, according to the speaker of the House, in order “to ensure a peaceful handing over of power,” as he urged people to “follow the law.”
The news saw a display of joyous fireworks throughout the city.
Following the Saturday events, the United States urged Sri Lanka’s government to take swift action to address the nation’s economic difficulties.
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A spokesperson for Colombo’s major hospital told AFP news agency that three people were being treated for gunshot wounds while dozens of others nursed injuries.
In the midst of the worst economic crisis the nation has experienced in 70 years, Sri Lanka has been struggling to import food, fuel, and medicine while also dealing with widespread inflation.
Due to a lack of foreign cash, it was forced to prohibit the sale of gasoline and diesel for private automobiles, which resulted in days-long lines for fuel.
On Saturday, huge crowds gathered outside President Rajapaksa’s official residence, chanting and waving the national flag before bursting through the barriers and entering the building.
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Videos posted online showed the protesters wandering the property and swimming in the president’s pool, while others went through the president’s possessions, emptied out a chest of drawers, and used his bathroom.
It is not clear whether the two resignations will appease the people of Sri Lanka who have been suffering for months.
“Just two resignations alone will not satisfy the demands, the demand of a system change, but at least this is a start if the president and the prime minister depart,” said Bhavani Fonseka, a prominent human rights lawyer in Colombo.
“There has to be a peaceful transition of power which is yet to be seen,” she warned.
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