Sri Lanka imposed a curfew amid protests over food, fuel, and electricity shortages.

A 36-hour curfew had been imposed in Sri Lanka when a state of emergency was declared amid violent protests over food and fuel shortages. The move was aimed at stopping new protests - two days after a mob set a car on fire near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence.

Since then, the military has sprung into action and now has the power to arrest suspects without orders. 

Amid blackouts lasting half a day or more and shortages of fuel, basic necessities, and medicine, public anger has reached new heights in the island nation of 22 million people.

The protesters responded to the police by throwing stones at them. According to an official quoted by Reuters at least two dozen police officers were injured in the clashes. Fifty-three protesters were arrested on Friday, and local media reported that five news photographers had been arrested and tortured at a police station. 

Despite the repression, the protests continued and spread to other parts of the country.

Demonstrators in the capital carried placards calling for the president's resignation. It is one of Sri Lanka's most draconian laws and is designed to be applied in "extreme threat, danger or catastrophe" situations.

For example, one of the latest deployments was after the deadly Easter attacks in 2019.