After Escaping From Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa Reportedly Heading To Singapore

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JAKARTA - Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to head to Singapore after fleeing to the Maldives in the early hours of Wednesday. A government source in Sri Lanka told Reuters.

The source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Rajapaksa will send his resignation letter to the Sri Lankan parliament speaker upon landing in Singapore on Wednesday, July 13.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka early in the morning aboard an Air Force military plane. Gotabaya Rajapaksa even though he had intended to resign due to a massive demonstration.

Rajapaksa departed on an Air Force plane for the Maldives at around 2 a.m. local time, said Colonel Nalin Herath, a spokesman for Sri Lanka's defense ministry. Three immigration officials, who declined to be named due to the political situation, confirmed his departure as well, as quoted by The New York Times, Wednesday, June 13.

Rajapaksa is due to step down amid widespread protests over his handling of Sri Lanka's devastating economic crisis.

Rajapaksa, his wife, and two bodyguards left on a Sri Lankan Air Force plane.

A government source said Rajapaksa left for Male, the capital of the Maldives. The Sri Lankan president will most likely continue his trip to other Asian countries from there, the source said.

Sri Lanka is experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history. It was exacerbated by mismanagement and government missteps.