Gotabaya Rajapaksa Sri Lankan Crisis: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to Maldives on military jet hours before he was to resign, protests escalate
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was scheduled to announce his resignation on Wednesday, has fled the nation on a military jet, media reports said.
Sri Lanka has been witnessing mass protests for the past several days as people demanded for his resignation and even agitated against the economic crisis which has disrupted normal life in the island nation.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country for the Maldives early on Wednesday morning, along with his wife and two security officers amid mass scale protests against him, reports Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror.
Rajpaksa landed at the Velena International Airport in the Maldives at 3.07 am on Wednesday and the Maldives capital was under heavy security at that time, sources confirmed to Daily Mirror.
Sources said that President Mohammed Nasheed had requested President Ibrahim Solih for the Rajapaksas to land in Maldives and clearance was received.
Rajapaksa is expected to be in the Maldives on transit before flying to another destination which is yet to be known, reports the newspaper.
His brother, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, has also left the country, sources have told the BBC. He is said to be heading to the US.
Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, meanwhile, refuted reports that India helped President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Basil flee the country.
"High Commission categorically denies baseless and speculative media reports that India facilitated the recent reported travel of @gotabayar @Realbrajapaksa out of Sri Lanka. It is reiterated that India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka," tweeted the Commission.
Consular Services Number for emergencies is +94-773727832. Kindly note that this number is only for emergencies. Please contact us on other numbers displayed on the website : https://t.co/b7x096lmjV for routine consular queries.
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) October 25, 2021
Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled the President's House shortly after thousands of protesters stormed into his residence on July 9.
The President had signed his resignation letter and the Speaker of the Parliament was due to announce it on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, thousands of people reached Galle Face Green, the main protest site in the capital city, Colombo, awaiting the President's resignation.The people woke up in the morning listening to the news of president's departure from Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankans had blamed the President's administration for the country's worst economic crisis.
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