Lesotho’s military yesterday seized and disarmed two police stations in the mountainous kingdom in a bid to secure the country, the nation’s defense force spokesman said.
However, the country’s prime minister said the military actions amounted to a coup.
Gunfire rang out early in the morning in Maseru, the capital, because of an exchange of fire between the military and police and young people at one of the stations that injured one soldier and four policemen, Basotho military spokesman Ntlele Ntoi told reporters.
Photo: Reuters
“The situation in Lesotho, in the capital, is back to normal. It’s business as usual,” he said.
He said the military had gathered intelligence that the police were going to arm factions participating in a demonstration planned for tomorrow by one of the coalition parties, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy. The military disarmed police to avoid bloodshed, the spokesman said.
“The arms have been removed and they are in military custody. The military has returned to the barracks,” he said, denying reports of any coup attempt. “We are not in a position now or in the future to stage a coup. All we do is to carry out our mandate to secure our country and property.”
Ntoi said he had heard reports that radio stations had been down for a few hours.
He said he could not say if they were down due to technical problems or because of the military.
Basotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane told South Africa’s eNCA television that the military actions amounted to a coup. He said something like this should not be happening in a democratic state, and that he would be meeting with South African officials.
He said he expects South Africa to help the government restore law and order.
Bernard Ntlhoaea, a guard at the US Embassy in Maseru, confirmed that gunfire was heard in the capital early yesterday.
“The military has been moving around from 3 o’clock in the morning, occupying police stations in Maseru and moving around to other districts,” Ntlhoaea said.
He said the military was armed and he saw at least one armored personnel carrier on the streets.
Political tensions have been high in the tiny kingdom, which is completely surrounded by South Africa, since June, when there was a power struggle after Thabane suspended parliament to dodge a vote of no confidence.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS