Sri Lanka's president has declared a state of emergency amid mass protests demanding his resignation, AP reported.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa signed a decree declaring a state of emergency Friday.

Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, it is suspending repayment of its foreign loans, and its foreign currency reserves in use have fallen sharply below $50 million. It has repaid $7 billion in foreign loans this year out of the $25 billion it has to repay by 2026.

Rajapaksa's decision comes at a time when protesters are demonstrating outside parliament and others are blocking the entrance to the presidential chamber, demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family, holding them responsible for the economic crisis.

The shortage of hard currency is also hampering imports of raw materials for production and exacerbating inflation, which rose to 18.7 percent in March.

As oil prices have risen sharply during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sri Lanka's fuel supplies are running low. Authorities have announced power cuts of up to 7.5 hours a day across the country because they cannot provide enough fuel for power plants.