Sri Lanka crisis: Rajapaksa to leave for Singapore from Maldives, says report

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to Maldives early this morning, is to leave for Singapore later today, news agency ANI reported citing Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror's sources.

Rajapaksa landed at the Velana International Airport in the Maldives early Wednesday. The Prime Minister's Office also confirmed that Rajapaksa had left the country.

Protesters have been demanding the resignation of both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe to restore normalcy in the country. Wickremesinghe has also pledged that he would step down as prime minister when an all-party government is formed.

Embattled President Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet in the morning, hours before he was supposed to quit in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.

From the Maldives, 73-year-old Rajapaksa appointed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe as the acting President, citing Article 37(1) of the Constitution that allows a premier to ''discharge the powers, duties, and functions of the office of president'' when the president is ill or ''absent'' from the country.

Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced that Rajapaksa has appointed Wickremesinghe to act to perform his functions while he is abroad.

Abeywardena also said Rajapaksa has informed him over the telephone that he will resign today as promised. He said the vote for the new president will take place on July 20.

Meanwhile, the protesters, who had arrived in large numbers at the PM Office, surrounded the building. The police fired tear gas on protesters who broke through a barricade and stormed the prime minister's office, calling for his resignation.

Sri Lanka's state-owned television channel Rupavahini briefly suspended its telecast on Wednesday as protesters stormed the building. Later, the channel resumed its transmission.

Also, a second Sri Lankan state television channel went off the air, less than an hour after Rupavahini suspended its operations.

(With agency inputs)