Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned after weeks of major protests over an economic crisis that has cut off basic services.
A government official confirmed to the ABC the prime minister sent a letter of resignation to the President.
The President is Mr Rajapaksa's brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is refusing to stand down despite calls from demonstrators.
Protests escalated over the past week, with the government imposing a state of emergency and curfew, giving sweeping powers to security forces.
On Monday, pro-government groups attacked protesters leading to 78 people being admitted to hospital with injuries.
Earlier on Monday, the outgoing Prime Minister called for peace during the protests.
"While emotions are running high in [Sri Lanka], I urge our general public to exercise restraint and remember that violence only begets violence," he said.
"The economic crisis we're in needs an economic solution, which this administration is committed to resolving."
A news network, Lanka First, also quoted Mr Rajapaksa as saying: "I am ready to make any sacrifice for the people."
Sri Lankans have faced months of power outages and acute food, fuel and medicine shortages as the country cannot import supplies because of its huge foreign debts.
Mr Rajapaksa has held two prime ministerial terms, the most recent since 2019.
He was also president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015 when he ended the country's 26-year civil war between the Sinhalese government and the separatist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes and Mr Rajapaksa faced criticism for how he won the conflict, with 40,000 Tamil civilians alleged to have been killed by government forces in the final weeks of fighting.
Ruling party MP takes his own life after killing protester
An MP from Sri Lanka's ruling party shot dead an anti-government protester and then took his own life during a confrontation outside the capital.
Amarakeerthi Athukorala opened fire and critically wounded two people blocking his car in the town of Nittambuwa, police told Agence France Presse.
Police said one of those shot died from their injuries.
"The MP fled the scene and took refuge at a nearby building," a police official said.
"Thousands surrounded the building and he then took his own life with his revolver."
Violence in the capital have also led to at least 138 people being admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
ABC/AFP
