Sri Lankan prime minister resigns after weeks of protests

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the president, step down over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned Monday following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the president, step down over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he submitted his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. There was no immediate comment from the president’s office.

The resignation comes after authorities deployed armed troops in the capital, Colombo, on Monday following an attack earlier in the day by government supporters on protesters who have been camped outside the offices of the president and prime minster.

The violence triggered widespread anger, with people singling out Rajapaksa supporters and attacking them in many parts of the country. Buses carrying the supporters back from the morning meeting were blocked and also attacked. Homes of some government ministers and politicians supporting the Rajapaksas were attacked and some set on fire.