Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency for the entire country and a curfew in certain parts of the country, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives this morning, amid mass protests due to the economic crisis on the island.
"The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency across the country and imposed a curfew in the western province effective immediately," a government official told Reuters.
Gotabaja escaped on a military plane to the Maldives, with his wife and two security officers, confirmed the military aviation.
The flight from Sri Lanka ended the reign of the powerful Rajapaksa family, which dominated the politics of that South Asian country for two decades.
After this news, thousands of people gathered in Colombo chanting "Gota thief, Gota thief", which is Rajapaksa's nickname.
Top officials of Sri Lanka's ruling party have agreed to back Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as a presidential candidate.
That decision has not been officially made yet, a source from the ruling party told Reuters today, and the protesters who gathered on the streets of Colombo said they wanted his resignation by the afternoon.
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