KATHMANDU, May 9: Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday amid continuing anti-government protests against its failure to tackle economic crisis.
This comes days after President Gotbaya Rajapaksa in a special meeting on Friday requested the Prime Minister to step down as a solution to the ongoing political crisis in the country, according to Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror.
President Rajapaksa is now expected to invite all the political parties in Parliament to form an all-party Cabinet.
Sri Lankan president flees the country amid economic crisis
On Monday morning, protesters held a demonstration opposite the Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister, urging Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa not to resign.
Following their meeting with the prime minister, they clashed with anti-government protesters near the Temple Trees. At least 16 people who sustained injuries have been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, according to local media reports.
The resignation came shortly after he put out a tweet urging the general public to exercise restraint.
"While emotions are running high in #lka, I urge our general public to exercise restraint & remember that violence only begets violence. The economic crisis we're in needs an economic solution which this administration is committed to resolving," Mahinda said in a tweet.
Sri Lanka has been rocked by civil unrest since March after the country faced economic crisis stemming from a foreign exchange shortage. This has led to a shortage in essential supplies such as fuel, food and medicines. Protests have been ongoing for days calling on the government and lawmakers to find urgent solutions.
