Clashes as Maldives’ ex-president vows fightback

Surrounded by supporters, the ex-president of the Maldives is determined to be reinstated.

Mohamed Nasheed insists that members of the security forces made him stand down at gunpoint on Tuesday.

However his fightback rally ended in violence, with clashes between police and members of his party, angry at what they believe was a coup.

“I was forced to resign with guns all around me,” Nasheed told reporters. “They told me if I do not resign, they would not hesitate to use arms.”

Some reports say Nasheed, the first democratically- elected president of the tourist paradise, was himself beaten in the clashes.

His order to arrest a top judge last month sparked opposition protests culminating in a police mutiny.

Nasheed suspects the man sworn in as his successor was aware of a plot to oust him. However former Vice President Waheed Hassan denies this, saying that he now plans to form a national unity government.

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