Violent clashes took place on Wednesday in the Maldives between supporters of former President Mohamed Nasheed - who says that he was forced to resign at gunpoint on Tuesday - and baton-wielding police.

Mr Nasheed, (wearing a yellow shirt) was the country's first democratically elected president. He said he was held at gunpoint during Tuesday's "coup". He demanded that his successor, Mohammed Hassan, should resign and promised to return to office.

Mr Hassan denies a coup has taken place or that there was a pre-arranged plan for him to stage a takeover. He said that his priority was to form a coalition to help build a stable and democratic country ahead of fresh presidential elections due next year.

Weeks of demonstrations in the capital of the Maldives - the Indian Ocean island chain - reached a climax on Tuesday when a group of police staged a mutiny, prompting the resignation of President Nasheed.

Opposition supporters have kept up the pressure since taking to the streets of Male last month to protest against the arrest of a senior judge accused by the government of political bias.

The turning point came when a group of police joined protesters on Tuesday, even clashing with the military on the streets of the capital. Police later took control of the state broadcaster.

President Nasheed, a former political prisoner and human rights activist, came to power after the 2008 elections ended 30 years of autocratic rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

But the embattled president (centre, in white shirt) resigned amid conflicting reports over whether he was pressured to act by the military.

"It will be better for the country in the current situation if I resign. I don't want to run the country with an iron fist. I am resigning," Mr Nasheed said during a televised news conference.

There was jubilation among opposition supporters when news of President Nasheed's resignation came out, but it is unclear how most people in the Maldives feel about the latest dramatic turn of events.