Sri Lankan President Lands in Singapore on Saudi Flight

 Apparently even close regional allies like the Maldives see embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as too much of a liability to have around for more than a day or two.

While he had initially fled his country on a military aircraft Wednesday just as protesters overran his presidential residence in Colombo and were even enjoying his swimming pool, and with his motorcade later being briefly spotted speeding through the streets of Maldive capital of Malé, he’s now reported to have arrived in nearby Singapore on Thursday. But it seems protests are following him wherever he goes.

CNN reports that Rajapaksa “has fled Maldives on board a flight for Singapore, a high-ranking security source in Colombo told CNN, as anger grows in his home country over his refusal to formally resign.”

Family members were also being ferried out of the capital as it descended into chaos. To leave the Maldives, he may have had some help from the Saudis, the report continues:

Rajapaksa left the capital of the Maldives, Malé, on board a “Saudi flight,” the source said. Rajapaksa had been waiting to secure a “private jet” from a close family member in Colombo, but that had “not materialized,” the source added.

CNN believes the source was referring to Saudia flight 788, which left Malé at 11:30 a.m. according to the source.The flight landed in Singapore at 7:17 p.m. local time Thursday, according to the Changi Airport website. Saudia is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia.

Former prime minister and Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office was also stormed just as Gotabaya was safely in the Maldives. 

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