Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left the Maldives on a Saudia airlines flight bound for Singapore, according to BBC, Reuters and Associated Press.
A Maldives government official said Rajapaksa boarded a flight of Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, on Thursday bound for Singapore.
It is not clear if Mr Rajapaksa will stay in Singapore or whether he will use it as a layover destination. Maldives officials initially indicated he planned to travel onward to Saudi Arabia, but later could only confirm his first stop in Singapore.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards fled the country on an air force plane early on Wednesday and headed to the Maldives.
His decision from Maldives to make his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the acting president triggered more protests, with demonstrators storming parliament and the premier's office demanding that he quit too.
He had previously pledged to resign by Wednesday but has failed to submit a formal resignation so far.
The leader, who as president enjoyed immunity from prosecution, is believed to have wanted to flee abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new administration.
Meanwhile, the government of Sri Lanka on Thursday announced a curfew in the capital Colombo and its suburbs to run until 5 am on Friday and protesters were withdrawing from the presidential palace after occupying it during the weekend. Some were seen unrolling a red carpet in the palace as they left.
Some protesters posted videos on social media pleading with others not to storm the Parliament, fearing an escalation of violence.
Protest leader Devinda Kodagode said they were vacating official buildings after the Parliament speaker said he was seeking legal options to consider since Rajapaksa left without submitting his resignation letter as promised.
ON KILLED IN CLASHES
Police said one person was killed and 84 injured in clashes between riot police and protesters on Wednesday near the parliament building and the prime minister's office, as people demanded the ouster of both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe.
The army said two soldiers were seriously injured when they were attacked by protesters near the parliament building on Wednesday evening and that their weapons and magazines were snatched.
Police said the man who died was a 26-year-old protester who succumbed after he was injured near the prime minister's office.
Rajapaksa had repeatedly assured the speaker of parliament that he would step down on Wednesday, but his resignation letter had not arrived as of Thursday, said an aide to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.
The speaker could seek the advice of the attorney general on the next steps if the letter did not come by the end of the day, said the aide, who did not want to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.
Former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, both brothers of the president, informed the Supreme Court through their lawyer that they would remain in the country until at least Friday, in response to a petition filed by anti-corruption body Transparency International seeking action "against persons responsible for the current economic crisis".
Immigration officials had stopped Basil from flying out of the country on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka's parliament is expected to name a new full-time president on July 20, and a top ruling party source told Reuters Wickremesinghe was the party's first choice, although no decision had been taken. The opposition's choice is their main leader Sajith Premadasa, the son of a former president.
