COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's embattled President was flown to an airbase near the main international airport Monday, officials said, raising speculation he will flee into exile abroad.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the presidential palace in Colombo under naval protection on Saturday, shortly before tens of thousands of protesters overran the compound.
Hours later, the parliamentary speaker announced Rajapaksa would resign on Wednesday to allow a "peaceful transition of power".
The 73-year-old leader had taken refuge at a navy facility, a top defence official told AFP, before being brought to the Katunayake airbase -- which shares a perimeter fence with the country's main Bandaranaike International airport.
"He and his entourage were flown back to Colombo in two Bell 412 choppers," he added.
There was no official word from the president's office about his whereabouts, but several local media reports speculated he was set to leave for Dubai later Monday.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said Rajapaksa had officially informed him of his intention to resign, without specifying a date.
Earlier, millions of rupees in cash left behind by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he fled his official residence in the capital will be handed over to court on Monday, police said.
Protesters discovered 17.85 million rupees (about $50,000) in crisp new banknotes but turned them over to police following Saturday's storming of the Presidential palace. "The cash was taken over by the police and will be produced in court today," a police spokesman said.
Official sources said a suitcase full of documents had also been left behind at the stately mansion. Rajapaksa took up residence at the two-century-old building after he was driven out of his private home on March 31 when protesters tried to storm it. The 73-year-old leader escaped through a back door under escort from naval personnel and was taken away by boat, heading to the northeast of the island, official sources told AFP.