The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that incumbent President Abdulla Yameen has encouraged gang violence in the Maldives and allowed impunity to such crimes during his presidency. 

In a statement calling for fast action in the murder of a 14-year-old in capital city Malé on Thursday, the party said President Yameen must take responsibility for having made the Maldives 'a place with no safety for its citizens'. 

The statement says that President Yameen's past five years have been a period of increased violent crimes and even murder, saying that the Yameen administration is 'criminal in nature'.

The statement also highlights how President Yameen said in a campaign rally, during his unsuccessful bid for re-election in September's presidential polls, that he has no knowledge of 'street gangs existing in the Maldives'. 

The party called on the Maldives Police Service, who on Thursday arrested 32 individuals in their crackdown on the violence in capital city Malé, to ensure stability in the capital city and the entire country.