Maldives promises to monitor and block radical websites

MALA, Maldives: The Maldives has promised to block websites seeking to radicalise its Muslim population, officials said, as the US warned extremist groups may attack with little warning in the honeymoon islands.

Defence Minister Adam Shareef said authorities were monitoring radical websites and social media accounts and would shut down any trying to recruit or influence Maldivians. "We have been noticing some information on websites and open sources that lead to people becoming more radicalised," Shareef told reporters in Male late on Monday.

The Maldives had warned of past efforts by foreign extremists to groom its citizens but had refrained from censoring or blocking online material considered risky. Authorities had begun identifying and closely tracking several radical websites in the wake of Shareef’s declaration, said sources close to the matter who wished to remain anonymous.

The cyber crackdown came less than a week after the US issued an updated travel warning for visitors to the Indian Ocean archipelago, urging them to exercise increased caution due to terrorism.

"Terrorist groups may conduct attacks with little or no warning", the statement read, including on remote islands where the response time by authorities would be lengthened. The Maldives are popular for tourists seeking surf, pristine beaches and paradise getaways.

But the islands have been plagued by political turmoil and nascent fears of Islamic extremism in recent years, denting its image as an upmarket honeymoon destination. There have been no recent attacks targeting tourists in the nation of nearly 1,200 tiny coral islands scattered across the equator.