Sri Lanka’s ousted president is back in the country just seven weeks after he fled.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa left in July after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home and office while showing their anger about the country’s dire economic state.

He, his wife, and two bodyguards had boarded an air force plane and headed for the Maldives, travelling on to Singapore – where he officially resigned – and then to Thailand.

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

Mr Rajapaksa returned to Colombo’s Bandaranaike international airport on Saturday from Bangkok.

The economic crisis has seen shortages of staples such as cooking oil, fuel, and medicine for months; while foreign debt amounts to more than £44bn, of which £24bn has to be repaid by 2027.

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The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been among the factors, but many blame the once-powerful Rajapaksa family for mismanaging the economy and tipping it into crisis.

Around the time that Mr Rajapaksa departed, his brother resigned as prime minister, and three other family members stepped down as cabinet members.

On Tuesday, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as president, reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a £2.5bn bailout over four years.

The package is aimed at helping Sri Lanka recover from the economic meltdown.

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