Sri Lankan PM Appointed as Acting President

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as acting president after President

Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad, the lower house speaker said Wednesday, as thousands of protesters called for the two men to step down.

"Because of his absence from the country, President Rajapaksa told me that he has appointed the prime minister to act as the president in line with the constitution," Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said in a brief televised statement.

A senior military source mentioned earlier that Rajapaksa fled his official residence in the capital before footage emerged of protesters demanding his resignation storming the presidential building.

Thousands of protesters swept the Sri Lankan capital. Instead of the planned peaceful march, the demonstrators broke through police barriers and took over the presidential palace.

Rajapaksa was reportedly evacuated shortly before his home was besieged by protesters.

In the same context, Denok Kulambag, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, said on Saturday that Wickremesinghe had told party leaders that he would resign when all parties agreed to form a new government.

Previously, Rajapaksa called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to help his country import fuel as it faces its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

“Had a very productive telecon with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. While thanking him for all the support extended by his govt to overcome the challenges of the past, I requested an offer of credit support to import fuel to #lka in defeating the current econ challenges,” the Sri Lankan president said.