Sri Lanka’s ousted president is back in the country just seven weeks after fleeing.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa left in July after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home and office while showing their anger at the country’s dire economic situation.
He, his wife and two bodyguards had boarded an air force plane and were heading to the Maldives, traveling to Singapore – where he officially quit – and then to Thailand.
He was thought to want to leave the country before resigning because Sri Lankan presidents are protected from arrest while in office, but not once they leave office.
Mr Rajapaksa returned to Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport from Bangkok on Saturday.
The economic crisis has led to shortages of basic commodities such as cooking oil, fuel and medicine for months; while external debt stands at over £44bn, of which £24bn must be repaid by 2027.
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The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were among the factors, but many blame the once-powerful Rajapaksa family for mismanaging the economy and tipping it into crisis.
Around the time Mr Rajapaksa left, his brother resigned as prime minister and three other family members resigned as cabinet members.
On Tuesday, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as chairman, struck a preliminary deal with the International Monetary Fund for a four-year, £2.5bn bailout.
The package aims to help Sri Lanka recover from the economic crisis.
