Sri Lankan Prime minister’s residence set on fire

The home of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been set on fire.

Over the past hour the unrest between protesters and police has intensified outside Wickremesinghe's residence in the country's capital Colombo.

Ranil Wickremesighe had agreed to resign, his office says, to make way for an all-party government, reports BBC.

Thousands of protesters earlier stormed the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo.

Police fired shots in the air but could not stop crowds from overrunning the residence.

Meanwhile, as the protests continued in Sri Lanka, the exact location of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remained unknown after he earlier had fled his official residence.

The property in the country's capital Colombo has since been stormed by large crowds with protesters demanding his resignation.

Rajapaksa was escorted to safety after people gathered outside the gates, and he is being protected by a military unit, a top defence source told the AFP news agency.

But speaking to Newshour on the World Service from Colombo, the BBC'S Ranga Sirilal explained that no-one knows where the president is.

He said there are claims Rajapaksa is trying to flee Sri Lanka "at any moment" and that he is at the airport.

However, there are other reports that he's next to Colombo Port amid claims "that two ships that docked at the port were seen loading some travelling bags, suggesting that the president is going to leave".

What seems more certain, Sirilal added, is that it appears protesters won't leave the residence until the president resigns and there is some political stability.