Dhaka, July 14 -- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left the Maldives on a Saudia airlines flight bound for Singapore, according to BBC, Reuters and Associated Press.

A Maldives government official said Rajapaksa boarded a flight of Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, on Thursday bound for Singapore.

It is not clear if Mr Rajapaksa will stay in Singapore or whether he will use it as a layover destination. Maldives officials initially indicated he planned to travel onward to Saudi Arabia, but later could only confirm his first stop in Singapore.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards fled the country on an air force plane early on Wednesday and headed to the Maldives.

His decision from Maldives to make ...