After weeks of protests and a mutiny in Maldives by police officers, its President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on Tuesday. In an address on state TV, he said it would be "better for the country in the current situation" if he stepped down.

Earlier, a group of mutinying police officers took control of the state broadcaster in the capital, Male. Tensions escalated after the Maldives army arrested a senior judge last month, prompting bitter street protests in the Indian Ocean island chain. A source close to the president described Tuesday's developments as a "coup by the former regime".

Mr Nasheed announced his resignation during a televised news conference."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. He is expected to hand over power to Vice-President Muhammad Waheed Hassan.

Sources in the office of Mr Nasheed told the Tuesday's protest took place in front of military headquarters, a high-security zone. Soldiers used tear gas to break up a demonstration by supporters of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. On Monday, around 50 policemen stood down in favour of the protesters and refused to obey orders. Over the past two days, scores of policemen have joined the protesters and clashed with the military.

Mr Nasheed defeated long-time ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had been in power for 30 years and was widely seen as autocratic, in the country's first multiparty election in 2008. Mr Nasheed was a well-known human rights campaigner and a former political prisoner. In office, he became a vocal figure on issues relating to the environment and climate change. But he has faced constant opposition - from those loyal to former President Gayoom and from religious conservatives who accuse him of being anti-Islamic.