Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns amid mass protests over the country’s worst economic crisis

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday.

In a statement issued on Monday, his office said that Mahinda Rajapaksa was quitting in order to help form an interim, unity government, following weeks of sometimes violent protests across the country over shortages of fuel and other vital imports and spiraling prices.

The resignation was announced shortly after he shared 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 tweeted.

The development comes days after President Gotbaya Rajapaksa in a special meeting held on Friday requested the Prime Minister to step down as a solution to the ongoing political crisis in the country, reports Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror.

Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa steps down on Monday after a day of violence that saw three people killed including an MP and over 150 wounded as government supporters armed with sticks and clubs attacked protestors.

Sri Lanka has been plunged into weeks of economic crisis since independence, stemming from a foreign exchange shortage.

The crisis has led to a shortage of essential supplies including fuel, food, and medicines.

Protests erupted countrywide and have been ongoing for days calling on the government and lawmakers to find urgent solutions to the worst economic crisis.