As protesters encircled Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office in Colombo earlier on Wednesday and breached into it, a 26-year-old man has died. 

Hours after news emerged that President Gotabaya Rajapaksha has fled to Maldives after appointing PM Wickremesinghe as the acting President, demonstrators encircled the 73-year-old’s office in Flower Road, Colombo. They were met by the military and police defence barricades and water cannons, tear gas was fired at them.

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The military and police failed to contain and disperse the protesters, who managed to breach inside the Prime Minister’s office and raised the Sri Lankan national flag on the top of the building. Further news has also surfaced that the protesters have also breached the Speaker’s residence, which is nearby the Sri Lanka Parliament.

The 26-old-man who reportedly lost his life, was witnessing difficulties in breathing after the military and the police decided to fire tear gas to defend the Prime Minister’s office on Wednesday. He was taken to a private hospital nearby, where he was receiving treatment but succumbed to the injuries, according to reports.

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after the Prime Minister’s office was breached by the protesters and President Gotabaya Rajapaksha fled the country. Since then, the military has released a statement, urging the speaker to hold an all-party meeting to find a political resolution to diffuse the ongoing situation. 

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The speaker has revealed that the vote for the new President of the island nation will be held on Wednesday, July 20.

“Those who are in my office want to stop me from discharging my responsibilities as acting president. We can’t let them tear up our Constitution. We can’t allow fascists to take over. Some mainstream politicians too seem to be supporting these extremists. That is why I declared a nationwide emergency and a curfew,” Wickremesinghe said while addressing the residents of Sri Lanka.