Maldives court issues arrest warrant for former president

Police spokesman Abdul Mannan Yusuf refused to disclose the grounds for the criminal court's warrant, or say when Nasheed — who is living at his Male home, surrounded by supporters — would be arrested. Later, Police Commissioner Abdullah Riaz said it was not clear if the warrant was constitutional. He declined to provide details, but said the warrant's legality was still being examined.

Rioters had rampaged through the streets of the Maldives capital Wednesday to demand Nasheed's return, and more had attacked police stations in remote parts of this 1,200-island archipelago nation off the southern coast of India.

Nasheed says he was forced to resign Tuesday while his successor's government maintains he left voluntarily.

The dispute has plunged the mostly Muslim nation of 300,000 people into political turmoil that could threaten its crucial tourism industry, which relies on dozens of high-end resorts that cater to the rich and famous. The developments also raise questions about the future of a fledging democracy that only recently shed a 30-year, one-man rule with multiparty 2008 elections that brought Nasheed to power.

The city was calm but tense Thursday, with the streets of Male crowded with commuters. Police said the violence in outlying islands had stopped.

But the new defense minister vowed to punish those responsible for Wednesday's violence, calling the destruction “acts of terrorism.”

“The Maldives national defense force remains vigilant in enforcing the law and order and upholding the constitution of the Maldives,” Mohammed Nazin told reporters Thursday, barely 12 hours into his new job.

What really happened to Nasheed, a onetime human rights campaigner, remained unclear. He resigned Tuesday, after police joined weeks of street protests against his rule and soldiers defected, but insisted he had not been forced from power. He was replaced by Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan.

On Wednesday, though, Nasheed said he had been ousted in a coup, and his supporters swept into the streets of Male and rampaged through a series of small, remote islands. Nasheed's wife fled Wednesday afternoon to nearby Sri Lanka, according to Bandula Jayasekara, the Sri Lankan presidential spokesman.

The new government insists there was no coup.

Maldives police commissioner Abdullah Riyaz said 18 police stations on several islands, along with an undetermined number of courthouses and police vehicles, were destroyed in the violence. Police said they detained 49 people after the Male rioting.

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