SL: Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stay in Singapore, not travel to Middle East

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife will stay in Singapore and not travel further to the Middle East.

According to various media reports, the Sri Lankan President and his wife, who took Saudia Airlines flight SV788 to Singapore, were expected to travel to Jeddah.

Rajapaksa is expected to arrive in Singapore by 7 pm today.

Rajapaksa, his wife Ioma Rajapaksa, and two security officials were scheduled to board a Singapore Airlines flight last night from Male to Singapore but did not go ahead as scheduled due to security concerns, according to the Daily Mirror.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 73, had gone into hiding after crowds of protesters stormed his residence on July 9 and he had announced that he will hand over his resignation letter on Wednesday.

Later, Rajapaksa along with his wife escaped to the Maldives. Subsequently, he appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the interim President of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the curfew has been imposed from 12 pm today till 5 am tomorrow within the Colombo District, the government information department announced.

Earlier in the day, "GotaGoGama" protesters announced that they will peacefully hand over government-occupied buildings including President's house, Presidential Secretariat, and Prime Minister's office, aiming to restore peace in the country.

The country is facing a severe shortage of fuel and other essential supplies and is in the throes of its worst economic crisis with soaring inflation. The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice.

Reduced domestic agricultural production, a lack of foreign exchange reserves, and local currency depreciation have fuelled the shortages.

The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty - some for the first time - adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.