Sri Lankan president flees

Sri Lankan President has fled the country, hours before his promised resignation amid widespread protests over his handling of the country’s worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

The Sri Lankan President, his wife and two bodyguards flew on a Sri Lankan Air Force plane.

The president had said he would resign on Wednesday to make way for a unity government after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his official residence on Saturday, demanding he step down.

Sri Lankan President, who helped end the country’s long-running civil war as defence secretary during his elder brother’s administration more than a decade ago, was elected president in 2019 promising security and stability.