Sri Lanka crisis: Youth dies during protest outside PM's office
Amid massive protests outside Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a 26-year-old man reportedly died after developing breathing difficulties when forces opened tear gas to control the situation.
The man had earlier been rushed to a private hospital in Colombo where he died during treatment, according to a report in Daily Mirror.
Protestors had entered Wickremesinghe's office hours ago defying security cordon and raised national flags top the building.
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Wickremesinghe, the crisis-hit country's prime minister, was named the Acting President by embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as he fled to Maldives with his family in the wake of massive protests.
According to latest reports, Rajapaksa is expected to head to Singapore in the next few hours.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe.
The military, meanwhile, called for a 'political resolution' to the ongoing stand-off between the government and demonstrators. In a statement, the military requested the speaker of the country's parliament to hold an all-party meeting to prevent the crisis from worsening.
The island nation is witnessing widespread protests as the political leaders struggle to resolve the economic crisis, which has been simmering for months now.
