Maldives Museum Reopens Minus Smashed Hindu Images

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Maldives’ national museum is reopening without some of its most valuable exhibits a week after a mob of suspected religious extremists smashed images from the pre-Islamic era of this Indian Ocean archipelago.

Museum Director Ali Waheed said Tuesday that about 35 exhibits — mostly images of Buddha and Hindu gods — were destroyed in the attack. Some of the artifacts dated back to the sixth century.

Waheed says 99 percent of the Maldives’ pre-Islamic artifacts from before the 12th century were destroyed in the attack.

The mob of apparent Muslim extremists attacked the museum during the Maldives’ unfolding political crisis. The country has seen weeks of protests and last week the president stepped down. He later said he was forced to resign at gunpoint.