Baku, December 15, AZERTAC

Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has stepped down from his post, signalling an end to a weeks-long political crisis that has kept the Indian Ocean nation without a functional government, according to Al Jazeera.

Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation in front of supporters and journalists at his private residence in the country's capital, Colombo, on Saturday.

In a subsequent statement, the 73-year-old said he was bowing out to allow President Maithripala Sirisena to "form a new government".

Sri Lanka has been in crisis since October when the president fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe amid a bitter power struggle, and replaced him with Rajapaksa, a popular former president who is accused of corruption and wartime atrocities.