Sri Lanka’s President Flees As Protesters Storm Residence Amid Economic Crisis

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s beleaguered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo Saturday, a top defense source told AFP, before protesters gathered to demand his resignation stormed the compound. “The president was escorted to safety,” the source said, adding that troops fired in the air to prevent angry crowds from overrunning the President’s Palace. Sirasa TV, a private broadcaster, showed crowds entering the once tightly-guarded residence. Sri Lanka has suffered through months of food and fuel shortages, lengthy blackouts and galloping inflation after running out of foreign currency to import vital goods. Huge crowds had poured…