President flees Sri Lanka amid crisis as ire turns toward PM

Sri Lankan protesters storm the compound of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)

Sri Lanka’s president fled the country early on Wednesday, slipping away only hours before he promised to resign under pressure from protesters enraged by a devastating economic crisis.

But the crowds quickly trained their ire on the prime minister, storming his office and demanding he also go.