Lesotho military in 'attempted coup'
Military units in Lesotho have surrounded government and
police buildings and gunfire has been heard in the small mountainous southern
African kingdom, in what diplomats said appeared to be an attempted coup,
reports Al-Jazeera news.
The military seized control of the tiny police headquarters
and jammed radio stations and phones in the early hours on Saturday, a
government minister and member of the ruling coalition told the AFP news
agency.
"The armed forces, the special forces of Lesotho, have
taken the headquarters of the police," Thesele Maseribane, sports minister
and leader of the Basotho National Party, said, describing a possible coup
attempt in the small nation located in eastern South Africa.
"The [military] commander said he was looking for me,
the prime minister and the deputy prime minister to take us to the king. In our
country, that means a coup," he said.
But Maseribane insisted Prime Minister Tom Thabane's
government was still in control of the landlocked nation, which is located
within eastern South Africa ,
and said the prime minister was "fine" without offering details of
his whereabouts.
An AFP photographer reported shots ringing out in the early
morning hours, and said a reinforced military contingent was guarding the prime
minister's official residence and that soldiers were patrolling the streets of
the capital Maseru .
The streets of the capital were calm, residents said,
although some shops remained closed.
South African radio stations also reported that private
radio stations were off the air in the nation.
Al Jazeera's Tania Page, reporting from Johannesburg , said: "The army is on the
street in vehicles, and appear to have taken control of the police station in
the capital.
"This is unhappy news for South Africa 's government who tried
to mediate after an attempted coup in June this year, when parliament was
closed.
"This could be move by the Lesotho Congress Party to
demand the reopening of parliament."
Feuding coalition
Political tensions have been running high in the landlocked
country since June when Prime Minister Thomas Thabane suspended the country's
parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote amid feuding in the two-year-old
coalition government.
Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing had vowed to form a
new coalition that would oust Thabane.
Since independence in 1966, Lesotho has undergone a number of
military coups.
In 1998, at least 58 locals and eight South African soldiers
died and large parts of Maseru
were damaged during a political stand-off and subsequent fighting.
Comments
Post a Comment