The UAE has called upon citizens in Maldives to get in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in case of any emergency.

Twitter handle @Twajudi, run by the ministry, has urged Emiratis to get in touch with them at 80044444.

Citizens who wish to travel to the exotic island destination have been advised to exercise caution because of political unrest.

The Maldives has been in turmoil since last week, when President Abdulla Yameen's government arrested two supreme court judges rather than obey a court order to release political prisoners and re-instate disqualified parliamentarians.

The turmoil comes after a steady erosion of democracy in the Maldives, where Yameen, who is facing a revolt within his own party, had already jailed many critics and rivals, shuttered parliament and harassed the media in an attempt to cling on to power.

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