Our team was on location in Colombo as demonstrators clashed with police whilst attempting to force their way into the offices of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister amid widespread anti-government protests.

On July 13, thousands of protesters stormed the offices of Sri Lanka Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, in Colombo. Our footage shows police clashing with the demonstrators and using tear gas in an ultimately futile attempt to disperse the gathering crowd.

The demonstrators, who continue to call for the resignation of senior government figures amid the island nation’s worsening economic crisis, were able to breach the police line and seize control of the PM’s office building. The mood of the gathering appeared buoyant with protesters seen hanging from balconies, raising the national flag and singing & dancing in the building’s foyer.

Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan government, headed by PM and acting President Wickremesinghe, declared a state of emergency and curfew in the country’s western province after embattled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives.

The video below shows how our team in the newsroom validate the images we received as Sri-Lanka’s anti-government protests reached boiling point.