{"id":11319,"date":"2022-07-14T07:45:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T06:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/?p=11319"},"modified":"2022-07-14T07:45:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T06:45:46","slug":"sri-lankan-president-flees-to-maldives-protesters-storm-prime-ministers-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/sri-lankan-president-flees-to-maldives-protesters-storm-prime-ministers-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lankan president flees to Maldives, protesters storm prime minister’s office"},"content":{"rendered":"
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled Sri Lanka on a military jet, amid mass protests over the island’s economic crisis.<\/p>\n
The country’s air force confirmed the 73-year-old flew to the Maldives with his wife and two security officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The president has pledged to resign by Wednesday, but an official resignation letter is yet to be received.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In the president’s absence, he has appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president.<\/p>\n
Mr Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency and told the military to restore order as protesters stormed his office and demanded that he also resign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Mr Rajapaksa’s departure ends a family dynasty that has dominated Sri Lanka’s politics for the past two decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The president had been in hiding after crowds stormed his residence on Saturday, and\u00a0had pledged to resign on Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His arrival in the Maldives, an island chain south-west of Sri Lanka, led to protests there too, with some urging the Maldivian government to stop providing a haven to the fleeing president.<\/p>\n ALSO READ:\u00a0Boris Johnson resigns as UK Prime Minister<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n