Violence spreads across Maldives after 'coup'

Violence erupted across the Maldives Wednesday as supporters of the ex-president who claims he was forced out by a coup clashed with security forces in Male and stormed police stations on outlying islands. Officials on four atolls in the holiday paradise nation, famed for its beaches and popular among honeymooners, told AFP that residents overran several police stations and set fire to government buildings. Earlier there were clashes between several thousand supporters of Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically elected president, and army and police in riot gear who used tear gas and batons in Male's Republic Square. There were unconfirmed reports of deaths in the violence in the capital, which were denied by the military and police when contacted by AFP. Chief Inspector Abdul Mannan Yoosuf told reporters the violence was "widespread geographically" and "more serious" on several outlying atolls than in Male. Police were planning a "joint operation with the armed forces" to bring the situation under control, he said. "But how and when it will be done will be decided later." It is the Maldives' worst unrest since clashes in 2003 following the death of an inmate at the hands of security forces, an event which sparked the process of democratic change on the Indian Ocean islands. In Washington the State Department called for calm and said a senior US envoy would visit the Maldives on Saturday, stopping short of describing events as a coup. Nasheed, who resigned on Tuesday, told AFP he suspected new president Mohamed Waheed had known about a plot to overthrow him involving rebel army and police officers. "I am afraid he's always entertained an idea to become the president... When the opportunity was available to him, he took it," the 44-year-old said of his former vice president -- from a different party -- who denies the allegation. Nasheed, 44, was later injured along with other senior members of his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) during a rally in the capital, with family members saying he was was beaten by police. Earlier in the day, he described how he had been "forced" to resign by a cabal of armed police and soldiers, explaining to AFP that "they told me if I didn't resign they would resort to the use of arms". Later, speaking to members of his party, he called on Waheed to step down.After the clashes in Male, unrest spread to outlying islands of the archipelago, particularly in MDP strongholds in the north and far south. The mayor of Addu, the country's southernmost atoll, said one police station had been stormed by protesters, and similar events happened on at least three other islands where police surrendered without violence in some cases. Mohamed Shareef, a senior politician on the island of Thinadhoo, told AFP a mob of up to 1,000 people had sacked a police station and set fire to a court building and a council office. Waheed was sworn in Tuesday hours after the dramatic resignation of his former boss following weeks of anti-government protests and a police mutiny. Speaking at his first press conference since taking office, Waheed rejected suggestions that Nasheed had been overthrown. "It is wrong to describe the events as a coup. We did not know this was going to happen. I was unprepared," he said. The army has denied any involvement in a coup against the president, but a spokesman admitted officers had "advised" him to step down. In his press conference, Waheed said he would appoint a "truly multi-party cabinet" in the next few days, and claimed he was in talks with all groups including the MDP. The weeks of protests that led to Nasheed's downfall had escalated after he ordered the army to arrest Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed on charges of misconduct and favouring opposition figures. Opposition parties accused Nasheed of trampling over the constitution. The demonstrations were also swelled by religious conservatives who saw his administration as un-Islamic, attacking him on issues including flights carrying Israeli tourists and "improper" social conduct in resorts. Waheed said Wednesday that Islamic parties "will be represented" in his new cabinet, adding that they are "part of our society and can't be ignored". Islam is the official religion of the Maldives and the open practice of any other religion is forbidden and liable to prosecution. Tuesday's events marked a spectacular fall for Nasheed, who rose to power from grassroots opposition to the 30-year autocratic regime of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and was imprisoned on several occasions. His clear victory over Gayoom in the country's first free elections in 2008 was hailed as heralding a new era of democracy and progressive politics. European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton expressed "deep concern" at developments in the Maldives.