Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday offered his resignation amid the island nation's worst economic crisis since independence that has led to widespread protests, a Sri Lankan government official said.
"The prime minister has sent his letter of resignation to the president," the Sri Lankan official said, declining to be named, reports Reuters.
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the prime minister's younger brother.
According to AP, the resignation follows attacks by Rajapaksa supporters on peaceful protesters demanding that the brothers leave office.
The resignation of the prime minister means that the entire cabinet is dissolved, paving the way for a new government.
Sri Lanka is near bankruptcy and has suspended repayments of its foreign loans. A severe foreign currency shortage has resulted in acute shortages of imported essentials such as fuel, cooking gas and medicine.
