Sri Lankan president steps down after arriving in Singapore

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has emailed a letter of resignation to the speaker of the country's parliament, shortly after he arrived in Singapore.

The resignation was being forwarded to the country's attorney general to consider legal implications before being formally accepted, Indunil Yapa, a spokesperson for the parliamentary speaker, said.

The original resignation letter will be flown into Colombo from Singapore as soon as possible, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters news agency.

Protesters who have taken to the streets against a dire economic crisis hurting the island nation of 22 million people have been demanding the resignations of both President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Rajapaksa, 73, fled Sri Lanka after protesters demonstrating against the country's worst-ever economic crisis overran his palace on the weekend.

READ MORE: Sri Lanka protesters leave official buildings

'Private visit'

Rajapaksa, his wife Ioma and their two bodyguards arrived in Singapore from the Maldives, where they had initially escaped to a day earlier. The airline plane carrying them landed at Singapore's Changi Airport at 1117 GMT.

Singapore's foreign ministry confirmed Rajapaksa had been allowed to enter the city-state but insisted it was for a "private visit".

"He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum. Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," it said in a statement.

Rajapaksa is expected to look to stay in the city-state for some time, according to Sri Lankan security sources, before potentially moving to another destination.

In Sri Lanka, protesters retreated from government buildings they seized and military troops reinforced security at the Parliament earlier in the day, establishing a tenuous calm in a country in both economic meltdown and political limbo.

Months of protests reached a frenzied peak over the weekend when demonstrators stormed the president’s home and office and the official residence of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.

On Wednesday, they seized the office of Wickremesinghe, who then urged the Parliament speaker to find a new prime minister agreeable to both the government and the opposition.

Images of protesters inside the government buildings — lounging on elegant sofas and beds, posing at officials' desks and touring the opulent settings — have captured the world's attention.

They initially vowed to hold these places until a new government was in place, but the movement shifted tactics on Thursday, apparently concerned that any escalation in violence could undermine their message.

Protesters withdrew from the prime minister's residence and the president's, where some moved a red carpet they had rolled up back into place.

The government, meanwhile, announced another curfew in the capital Colombo and its suburbs in the afternoon until 5am on Friday.

READ MORE: Sri Lankan protesters storm PM's office after president flees country