A senior Sri Lankan defense ministry official said ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will end his stay in Thailand and return to his country on Saturday, noting that Rajapaksa is in a Thai hotel as a prisoner and is determined to return.

In a statement, he said: “We have just set up a new security unit to protect him after his return on Saturday, which includes elements of the army and the police team,” explaining that “Rajapaksa had a visa that allowed him to stay in Thailand. for ninety days, but he decided to return with his wife, bodyguard and assistant.

Sri Lanka’s constitution provides for the provision of bodyguards, vehicles and residences to former presidents of the country.

Rajapaksa fled the island on July 13, four days after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home, angered by the deteriorating economic situation. Sri Lanka, with a population of 22 million, is in the midst of an economic crisis with acute shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies due to a lack of foreign exchange to finance imports.