COLOMBO, Sept 21: Five security men were arrested in the tiny Indian Ocean atoll nation of the Maldives on Sunday after the deaths of two prisoners sparked unprecedented rioting in the island capital Male, officials said.

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom vowed tough action against any member of his National Security Service (NSS) involved in the killings at Maafushi jail located on a small coral island near Male.

“All persons found to be responsible for the incident will be prosecuted under the law without leniency,” the archipelago’s veteran leader said on national television.

He said five NSS men were suspended and later arrested following preliminary investigations while he appointed a five-member panel to carry out an independent probe. One prisoner was killed on Friday and a second inmate died on Saturday in hospital, triggering the street violence, officials said.

Gayoom had on Saturday appealed for calm but hours later imposed a night curfew to stop the rampaging mobs that set fire to police stations, government buildings and burnt police vehicles and high court records.

For the first time, Maldivian police used teargas as mobs rampaged through the night.—AFP