Maldives military on alert weeks before presidential elections

According to local media reports, the Maldives military is on alert amid 'reports of threats to national security’.

An online news outlet brought attention to a post on Facebook page claiming to represent Defence Minister Adam Shareef Umar, saying that the military has been receiving reports that some are working to create chaos in the country 'in the coming days'.

"Maldives National Defence Force, along with Maldives Police Service are closely monitoring these threats", reads the post in Dhivehi, further calling to notify them 'if anyone has any such information'.

While MNDF spokesperson Ibrahim Azim failed to answer RaajjeMV calls seeking a comment on the matter, he later shared a link in a Viber group where he regularly shares information with journalists. However, he did not disclose any information.

Police spokesperson Ahmed Shifan did not deny whether such an operation was ongoing but said that they 'cannot reveal any details on this'.

With the country less than 50 days away from the presidential elections, such a message from the military head has led to public confusion and panic.