Gotabaya Rajapaksa is now protected by the army in a secret place, said the Ministry of Defense.
Le Monde with AFP
The president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaka, fled his official residence of Colombo, Saturday July 9. He remains president of the country and is now protected by the army in a secret place, said a source from the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry.
Local television channels have shown images of hundreds of people climbing the gates of the presidential palace, in the heart of the economic capital. Tens of thousands of people had previously participated in a demonstration to demand the resignation of Mr. Rajapaksa, judged responsible for the unprecedented economic crisis which strikes Sri Lanka.
Friday, an undetermined curfew had been decreed in Colombo, the largest city in the country, while thousands of demonstrators were already starting to flock to request the resignation of the president.
This island country suffers from an unprecedented shortage of basic necessities and its 22 million inhabitants have a galloping inflation and prolonged power cuts since the beginning of the year.