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Maldives' ex-president says was forced to resign

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Nasheed, speaking to AFP by telephone from the capital, said he had gone to military headquarters on Tuesday where he found about 18 "middle-ranking" police and army officers in control.

"They told me if I didn't resign they would resort to use arms," he said. "I took it as a threat. I wanted to negotiate the lives of the people who were serving in my government."

He added that he feared his "vice president was in on it" referring to Mohamed Waheed, who was sworn in as head of state on Tuesday.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012