Mahinda Rajapaksa, Family Holed Up In Naval Base Amid Protests. Son Says Ex-PM Won't Flee Sri Lanka

Mahinda Rajapaksa has been taken with the help of a helicopter to Trincomalee, a naval base in the northeastern region of the country.

Security personnel stand guard near Sri Lanka's former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence (Source: File photo/AFP)

New Delhi: Sri Lanka's former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will not flee the country, his son told AFP on Tuesday. Amid the country's worst-ever economic crisis, the lethal protests began in front of Sri Lanka's Trincomalee Naval Base on Tuesday after reports emerged that Mahinda and his entire family have been hiding at the Navy's Trincomalee naval base amid heavy military security, as reported by news agency PTI.

"There are a lot of rumours that we are going to leave. We will not leave the country," he said, describing the surge of national anger against his family as a "bad patch".

"My father is safe, he is at a safe location and he is communicating with the family," said Namal, who served as the country's sports minister until a cabinet shake-up last month.

To remove the protesters, the security personnel had to open fire from inside the PM's residence. On Tuesday morning, the Sri Lankan army, armed with heavy weapons, somehow pulled out Mahinda Rajapaksa from his house.

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as the prime minister of the island nation on Monday morning.

He has been taken with the help of a helicopter to Trincomalee, a naval base in the northeastern region of the country. On the other hand, now the protesters have also reached the naval base which is at a distance of 270 km from the capital Colombo. 

Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa government has deployed thousands of soldiers and police and imposed a curfew. Around 200 people have been injured and 5 people have died in the violence that broke out after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa. It also includes an MP from the ruling party.

Since the independence of Sri Lanka in 1948, the country is facing the biggest economic crisis ever. 

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants the people of Sri Lanka to find a solution to the crisis in their country through dialogue.