Sunday, August 31, 2014

Reax on the streets after PM flees claiming military attempted a coup

Residents of Lesotho's capital, Maseru reacted on Sunday to the news that their prime minister fled the country after a supposed military coup attempt the day before.

Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fled to South Africa in fear for his safety and will now meet with leaders of the region there to seek peace, he said Sunday.

Thabane said there had been an attempt to take over Lesotho, a country of about 2 million people.

Lesotho's Defence Forces deny any attempt at a coup although they say the military exchanged gunfire and disarmed two police stations in Lesotho's capital, Maseru on Saturday.

A Maseru businessman told AP Television he was concerned for his overseas business contracts, fearing that the unrest may put people off trading with the small country.

"I am working with guys from overseas, so now it is not easy for them to come here and invest. All the projects that I'm doing now they might not go on," said Hatahata Majora.

The meeting bringing together Thabane, other politicians from Lesotho, South African president Jacob Zuma and regional leaders is expected later Sunday or on Monday.

A meeting between ministers from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia is taking place on Sunday in an undisclosed location in Pretoria.

Lesotho has seen a number of military coups since gaining independence from Britain in 1966.

No comments:

Post a Comment