<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Sri Lanka's beleaguered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo Saturday, a top defence source told AFP, before protesters gathered to demand his resignation stormed the compound.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>"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.</div><div><br></div><div>Sirasa TV, a private broadcaster, showed crowds entering the once tightly-guarded residence.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Huge crowds had poured into the capital for the demonstration, the latest expression of unrest sparked by the island nation's unprecedented economic crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>Police had withdrawn a curfew order issued on Friday after opposition parties, rights activists and the bar association threatened to sue the police chief, reports AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>Thousands of anti-government protesters ignored the stay-home order and even forced railway authorities to operate trains to take them to Colombo for Saturday's rally, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>