Officials in Lesotho have confirmed that the country’s army commander has been shot dead on Tuesday by rival officers at a military barracks.
A military official told the AFP that “The commander (Khoantle Motsomotso) has been declared dead.”
The incident is seen as an assassination move taken by two senior officers who have also been killed in a shoot-out.
Motšomotšo shot dead https://t.co/DI1zGCRyxe pic.twitter.com/3bRXRrNeba
— Lesotho Times (@Lestimes) September 5, 2017
“They attempted to forcefully enter, there was a shoot-out between the two, their companion who has since fled, and the commander’s bodyguards,” the unnamed official told AFP.
BREAKING NEWS: 4 senior #Lesotho Defence Force officials have been assassinated and some senior politicians have fled country #SABCNews
— Sophie Mokoena (@Sophie_Mokoena) September 5, 2017
Lesotho has witnessed some level of political unrest with Prime Minister Thomas Thabane under a new coalition government hoping to restore peace to the country.
Thabane, 78, fled to South Africa following an attempted military coup in 2014 when soldiers led by sacked army chief General Tlali Kamoli seized control of police headquarters.
His party the All Basotho Convention (ABC) won a snap election on June 3 but could not form a government needing to enter into a coalition with three other parties.
Source: Africafeeds.com
