Timeline: How Sri Lankan protests unfolded

Demonstrators run from tear gas used by police during a protest demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid the country's economic crisis, near the president's residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

(Reuters) - A deep financial crisis has left Sri Lanka struggling to pay for imports of food, medicine and fuel and brought thousands of protesters on to the streets.

On Wednesday, a government source said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled the country, hours before he had been due to step down after widespread protests over his handling of the crisis.