Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as thousands stormed the prime minister's office after months of widespread protests against the economic crisis after the country's president flew to the Maldives.
The 73-year-old leader fled his official residence in Colombo just before it was stormed by tens of thousands of protesters on Saturday. He then wanted to fly to Dubai, officials said.
As president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest and is believed to want to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of being detained.
He, his wife and two bodyguards were the four passengers aboard the Antonov-32 military aircraft that took off from Sri Lanka's main international airport.
Sri Lanka's president steps down after months of violent protests
Hours later, with no formal announcement that he was stepping down, thousands of protesters stormed the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe - who would automatically become acting president if he resigned - demanding the two officials leave.
“Go home Ranil, go home Goto,” they shouted.
Police used tear gas to prevent the compound from being overrun and officials declared a national state of emergency "to deal with the situation in the country", prime minister's spokesman Dinouk Colombage told the French news agency AFP.
Police have imposed an indefinite curfew in Western Province, which includes Colombo, "to manage the situation", a senior police officer said.
Rajapaksa's youngest brother Basil, who resigned as finance minister in April, missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai early on Tuesday after a tense situation with airport staff.
Basil — who holds American citizenship in addition to his Sri Lankan nationality — tried to use the paid concierge service for business travelers, but airport and immigration officials said they backed away from the expedited service.
"There were some other passengers who objected to Basil getting on their plane," an airport official said. “It was a tense situation, so he left the airport in a hurry.
A hasty retreat
Basil had to get a new US passport after leaving his stay at the presidential palace as the Rajapaksa beat a hasty retreat to avoid the crowds on Saturday, a diplomatic source said.
Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to the point where the country has run out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, leading to severe hardship for its 22 million people.
If he steps down as he has promised, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will automatically become acting president until parliament elects an MP to serve the president's term, which ends in November 2024.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a possible bailout.
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