Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from his post on Monday amid the worst economic crisis the country has seen since independence, as per local media reports.

Until now, the Rajapaksa brothers - President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa - had defied calls for their resignation even as unrest and protests against the government intensified.

On Monday, following reports that Mahinda Rajapaksa may offer to step down as prime minister, a violent clash erupted outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office. Pro-government groups attacked protesters and more than 20 people were injured in the ensuing violence. The government then imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed army troops in the capital.