Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday over the worsening economic situation and violence at mass protests.
The 76-year-old delivered his letter of resignation to his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, paving the way for a “new unity government,” according to spokesperson Rohan Weliwita.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the prime minister’s younger brother, accepted the resignation, Sudeva Hettiarachchi, a spokesman for his office said.
The resignation paves the way for the president to put opposition members in key government roles, one solution he’s proposed to end the crisis. But it’s unclear if the resignation of Rajapaksa will placate angry citizens, who have called for the president to step down as well.
The move comes as Sri Lanka deployed troops and imposed an indefinite curfew in Colombo after government supporters attacked protesters outside President Rajapaksa’s office.
The decision came on a day supporters of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa–Mahinda’s younger brother–attacked anti-government demonstrators in Colombo, leaving at least 78 people injured. “While emotions are running high in #Ika, 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,” the now-former premier had said in a tweet shortly after the violence.
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