Sri Lanka has begun a state of emergency that was declared late on Friday, to tackle the growing unrest amid an unprecedented economic crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said it was necessary to invoke the tough law to maintain order. 

The Indian Ocean island nation is struggling to pay for essential imports, after a 70-percent drop in foreign exchange reserves in two years led to a currency devaluation.

The country is seeing rolling blackouts of up to 13 hours. And its stock market was suspended for several days after the main blue-chip index fell by 10 percent.