President flees. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka, left the nation early on Wednesday in a military plane for the neighboring Maldives, according to reports from local authorities cited by news agency AFP.
There were four people on board an Antonov-32 aircraft when it took off from the main international airport, including the 73-year-old commander, his wife, and a bodyguard.
Sri Lankans attribute their worst economic catastrophe in decades to President Rajapaksa’s administration.
They have been enduring daily power outages and shortages of necessities like fuel, food, and medications for months.
The leader is thought to have intended to leave the country before resigning in order to avoid the prospect of being arrested by the next administration as he is immune from prosecution while he is president.
