30/08/2014 14:53
Gunfire heard in Lesotho as army moves on police in apparent coup
Army soldiers in Lesotho occupied police buildings and surrounded the premier's residence in an apparent coup attempt on Saturday, but Prime Minister Thomas Thabane was safe, residents and diplomats said, Reuters reported.
Gunfire was heard earlier in Maseru, capital of the small landlocked mountainous southern African kingdom where political tensions have been high since Thabane suspended parliament in June amid feuding in the two-year-old coalition government.
Residents and diplomats said that heavily-armed soldiers had surrounded State House and also occupied the main headquarters of the police force, which is loyal to Prime Minister Thabane.
The diplomats said that the army was mostly loyal to Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing, who had vowed to form a new coalition that would oust Thabane, who belongs to the All Basotho Convention party.
The army had made its move after the prime minister fired the army commander, the diplomatic sources said.
The streets of the capital were calm, residents said, although some shops remained closed.
The movements by the army also followed the police's banning of a march planned for Monday by Metsing's Lesotho Congress for Democracy party.