Maldives govt denies claim of blocking Chagos aid mission

The Maldivian government has denied claims by Nigel Farage that the British government obstructed a humanitarian aid mission travelling through the Maldives to provide assistance to residents of the Chagos Islands.

Farage arrived in the Maldives last week as part of an effort to deliver food and medical supplies to four people from Chagos who are seeking to settle permanently in the island of Île du Coin. The vessel involved in the mission is scheduled to depart for the island, located about 300 miles south of the Maldives.

Farage, who was expected to take part in the journey, told The Telegraph that he had been informed by a senior Maldivian government source that the British government had requested his visit to Chagos be blocked.

However, a senior government official told Atoll Times on Sunday that the Maldivian government had not placed any obstacles on the planned trip.

The Chagos Islands were depopulated during the 1960s and 1970s to facilitate the construction of a joint United States and British military base on Diego Garcia. While an agreement has since been reached to transfer the islands to Mauritius, the Maldives has declined to recognise the handover, maintaining that sovereignty over the area should rest with the Maldives.