President Sri Lanka who was surrounded by Gotabaya Rajapaksa escaped from his official residence in Colombo on Saturday, a Top defense source told AFP, before the protesters gathered to demand his resignation into the complex.

The president was escorted to a safe place,” said the source, added that the troops shot in the air to prevent the angry crowd beyond the President’s PalaceSirasa TV, a private announcer, showed a crowd into the residence that had been tightly guarded.

Sri Lanka has suffered for months -shortage of food and fuel, long blackouts and inflation run after running out of foreign currencies to import vital goods.

The large crowd has flowed into the capital for demonstrations, the latest expressions of the riots triggered by the economic crisis of the island state that has never happened before.

The police have withdrawn the curfew order issued on Friday after the opposition parties, rights activists and bar associations threaten to sue the police chief.

Thousands of anti-governmental protesters ignore the orders to stay at home and even the train authority forced to operate the train to take them to Colombo for a general meeting on Saturday, officials said.