Jakarta –
President Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa reported to have left the Maldives after fleeing his own country amid the economic crisis.
Reported from Associated PressThursday (14/7/2022), a Maldivian government official said, Rajapaksa boarded a Saudi Airlines flight that would take him to Jakarta Singapore and then to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
According to an airport official AFP, Rajapaksa along with his wife Ioma and their two bodyguards were escorted to the plane, minutes before it took off from Velana International airport in Male, the capital of the Maldives.
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Previously, Rajapaksa fled from Sri Lanka on Wednesday (13/7) morning local time when protesters took over government buildings to demand he resign.
Rajapaksa had promised to step down by Wednesday evening local time. But so far, Sri Lanka’s parliament has reportedly not received his resignation letter.
The Sri Lankan leader fled his country on Wednesday morning local time after protesters stormed his official residence in Colombo at the weekend, as the South Asian country’s economic crisis worsened.
Sri Lanka has declared a national emergency on Wednesday (13/7). This was announced hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country. The national emergency will be in effect indefinitely.
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