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Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa ’emails resignation to parliamentary speaker’ as army authorised to use force |

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Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has emailed a letter of resignation to the speaker of the country’s parliament, sources have told Reuters.

There was considerable tension in the capital Colombo earlier after Mr Rajapaksa failed to resign by Wednesday night as he had promised and in a week when protesters have occupied government buildings.

It appears as though the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament was unwilling to accept a resignation by email and it has since emerged that the original resignation letter will be flown into Colombo from Singapore as soon as possible, possibly on Friday.

Singapore’s foreign ministry has said Mr Rajapaksa entered the country on a private visit after flying in from the Maldives earlier on Thursday, having fled there from his home country on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka’s army has been authorised to use necessary force to prevent destruction of property and life as protesters’ anger remains high.

Troops have been moving to secure Sri Lanka’s parliament building in armoured personnel carriers.

The authorities imposed another curfew from noon on Thursday until 5am on Friday in a bid to ward off further protests.

A state of emergency had earlier been imposed and a nationwide curfew was in place until Thursday morning.

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Protesters storm Sri Lankan PM’s office

Earlier, protesters left government buildings in Colombo even though the president had failed to resign after promising to do so.

Thousands of people stormed Mr Rajapaksa’s palace on Saturday and occupied it in protest at the economic chaos in the country.

Mr Rajapaksa and his wife fled to the Maldives aboard an air force jet and he made the prime minister acting president in his absence.

It was thought the president wanted to leave the country before resigning because Sri Lankan presidents are protected from arrest while in power but not once they leave office.

Singapore said he had not asked for asylum and nor been granted asylum.

Protesters believe they are edging closer to victory – By Nicole Johnston, Sky correspondent, in Colombo

What a difference a day makes.

On Wednesday, protesters stormed the prime minister’s office and occupied the building. On Thursday, they handed it back.

We were there when demonstrators dodged tear gas canisters and had running battles with security forces.

Then it was so packed we couldn’t push our way inside.

Now the military are holding the building and all its visitors have left.

It was a similar story at the presidential palace. We arrived just in time to see the people who’d been occupying the building clean it up, return the furniture to the right place and then walk out.

They chanted “the struggle has won”.

The protesters believe they are edging closer to victory over the Rajapaksa political family.

At its peak, tens of thousands of people were lining up to visit the president’s official residence.

One of the most popular spots was the swimming pool. Now it’s half empty and filthy. The gym is also looking run down after so many visitors.

Protest leaders say they’ll continue their struggle.

AP previously reported that he was heading to Saudi Arabia but has subsequently said that it cannot be confirmed while Reuters cited a Sri Lankan government source as saying Mr Rajapaksa is expected to stay in Singapore for the time being.

The appointment of the prime minister as acting president further angered protesters who have accused him of protecting Mr Rajapaksa.

The protesters blame Mr Rajapaksa and his powerful, dynastic family for leading the country into an economic crisis that has caused severe shortages of food and fuel.

Sky News watched as the protesters at the presidential palace agreed to leave the premises on Thursday.

From the presidential palace at about 2pm local time, Sky’s Nicole Johnston said: “Incredible scenes just in the last few minutes, we’ve seen the protest leaders start to depart from the presidential palace, it’s happening right behind us. They’ve been cheering and yelling that the struggle has been won.

“The protest leaders have decided that enough is enough and it’s time to hand back these government buildings. So far, three out of four have been handed back. One more is under negotiation.

“They’ve been upstairs cleaning it. They say they want to hand it back in good condition. One of the reasons they were handing it back is they were concerned about protecting it.”

In general, the atmosphere in Colombo was described as “calm”.

Mr Rajapaksa had repeatedly assured the speaker of the parliament that he would step down by Wednesday night, but his resignation letter had not arrived by Thursday afternoon.

It eventually arrived by email late on Thursday, two sources said, but one of the sources later said the speaker wants to see the original before formally announcing the president’s resignation.

Read more:What is happening in Sri Lanka?

One person was killed and 84 injured in clashes between riot police and protesters on Wednesday near the parliament building and the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Protesters took turns posing at the prime minister’s desk, taking pictures similar to those they had taken when protesters stormed the presidential palace on Saturday, or stood on a rooftop terrace waving the Sri Lankan flag.

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Helicopter flies near protesters in Sri Lanka

Earlier this week, the opposition said it was trying to form a unity government to take over but Mr Wickremesinghe has said he will not leave until a new government is in place and the opposition is deeply fractured.

Sri Lankan MPs have agreed to elect a new president on 20 July to serve the remainder of Mr Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024.

Whoever MPs elect president could potentially appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by the parliament.

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1:30

Moment tear gas fired during Sri Lanka protests

There have been expressions of concern that the military – which has warned people to remain calm – might get increasingly involved if the protesters refuse to leave all the buildings they have stormed, or continue to demonstrate.

Human Rights Watch has called on Sri Lanka’s security forces and other authorities to respect the rights of protesters.

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