Sri Lanka’s Ousted President Rajapaksa Returns Home After Fleeing

Sri Lanka's then president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, presenting his national statement during the World Leaders' Summit at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, on Nov. 1, 2021. Andy Buchanan/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

Sri Lanka’s former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country in July after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home and office in a display of anger over the country’s economic crisis, has returned to the country after seven weeks.

Rajapaksa flew into Colombo’s Bandaranaike international airport around midnight Friday from Bangkok via Singapore.