A report on AFP says that the wife and daughters of former Maldives' president Mohamed Nasheed have fled to Colombo as violence worsens. "His wife and two children arrived and spoke to the president over the phone last evening," a spokesman for Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse, Bandula Jayasekera, told AFP.

"President Rajapakse was concerned over the safety of Mr Nasheed and his family." A family member in Male, who asked not to be named, confirmed the news, saying: "They are in Sri Lanka... It's much safer than here."