Sri Lanka's ousted president seeking entry to Thailand after weeks in Singapore

FILE PHOTO: More than eight months before an economic crisis and mass protests prompted him to flee Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presented his national statement during the World Leaders' Summit at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 1, 2021. Andy Buchanan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested entry into Thailand for a temporary stay in a second Southeast Asian country after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests, the Thai foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 following unprecedented unrest caused by Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president's official residence and office.