Sri Lanka President Gotabaya likely to fly from Maldives to Singapore

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Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives on Wednesday is likely to fly to Singapore today, according to local media reports. </p>
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Rajapaksa along with his wife Ioma and two security officers were expected to leave for Singapore on board SQ437 from Male to Singapore on Wednesday night but did not board the aircraft due to security issues, according to a report in the Daily Mirror.</p>
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Talks are on for chartering a private aircraft to fly the embattled President to Singapore, reports in the Maldivian Media stated.</p>
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Rajapaksa had telephoned the speaker of parliament saying that he would step down on Wednesday, but his resignation letter had not arrived.</p>
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Gotabaya’s decision to leave Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in charge as acting President has led to more protests in Sri Lanka. The protesters with Sri Lanka flags had taken over the PM’s office and made it clear that they want Wickremesinghe to also resign.</p>
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Earlier his house in Colombo had been burnt and Wickremesinghe had said that he would also quit as Prime Minister.</p>
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The Lankan political leaders held an all-party meeting, where it was decided to let the parliament Speaker take over as the acting President.</p>
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The office of Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been asked to step down, said the ruling party and the opposition must form an all-party government.</p>
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Tear gas shells were fired as thousands of people mobbed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office, took over his residence and pushed against the gates of the Lankan parliament.</p>
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In a statement, Mr Wickremesinghe said the protesters had no reason to storm his office. "They want to stop the parliamentary process. But we must respect the Constitution," he said.</p>
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Sri Lanka's state-run TV network had suspended its telecast after protesters entered the TV station, but had resumed the broadcast later.</p>
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A curfew, imposed by Ranil Wickremsinghe over intensifying protests against the government in the state, has been lifted.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/protestors-take-over-sri-lanka-prime-minister-s-residence-amid-chaos-in-colombo-183691.html">Protestors take over Sri Lanka Prime Minister’s residence amid chaos in Colombo</a></strong></p>