Sri Lanka's president leaves Maldives for Singapore, has not formally resigned
A Maldives government official said Rajapaksa boarded a flight of Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, on Thursday bound for Singapore. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Anticipating more protests after a group attempted to storm the Parliament's entrance a day earlier, troops in green military uniforms and camouflage vests arrived by armored personnel carriers Thursday to reinforce barricades around the building. The protesters accuse the president and his powerful political family of siphoning money from government coffers for years and Rajapaksa's administration of hastening the country's collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but Rajapaksa acknowledged some of his policies contributed to the meltdown.
Amid the mounting chaos, Wickremesinghe's office imposed a state of emergency giving broader powers to the military and police. Defense leaders have called for calm and cooperation with security forces - comments that have rankled some lawmakers who insist civilian leaders would be the ones to find a solution.
It's unclear when that might happen since the opposition is deeply fractured. But assuming that Rajapaksa resigns as promised, Sri Lankan lawmakers have agreed to elect a new president on July 20 who will serve the remainder of Rajapaksa's term, which ends in 2024. That person could potentially appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by Parliament.
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