Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's party quits coalition government: Minister

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President

Maithripala Sirisena

's party on Friday withdrew from the ruling coalition, a senior minister was quoted as saying by the media.


The unity government of the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party

(SLFP) and the

United National Party

(UNP) was thrown into a crisis after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's new party pulled off a stunning victory in local elections in February seen as a referendum on the ruling alliance.

The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) withdrew from the government, UPFA general secretary Mahinda Amaraweera was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror news.

"The UPFA left the coalition government," he said.

Last week, it was reported that Sirisena accused his senior coalition partner, the UNP, of not taking seriously an alleged conspiracy to assassinate him and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the former top defence ministry bureaucrat and brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa.