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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Lesotho PM's bodyguards shot in crossfire |
| 2015-02-03 |
| [Emirates 24/7] Two bodyguards tasked with protecting Lesotho's Prime Minister Tom Thabane were shot and maimed on Sunday and a bystander killed in the crossfire, five months after a failed putsch in the tiny African kingdom, one of his senior advisers said. Both the injured men were soldiers who had tipped off Thabane about the planned August 2014 coup when the military attacked several police installations and the prime minister's residence, killing one police officer, the adviser said. "The two guards went against their own men that day, absolutely," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , suggesting that Sunday's assault could be linked to the failed coup. The shootings outside the gates of the Royal Palace of Lesotho King Letsie III also come four weeks before national elections in the impoverished country of two million which is surrounded by South Africa. The bodyguards were not accompanying the prime minister at the time. "We're still trying to figure out the motives. My gut-feeling is that what's happening now is to frustrate the election process," the adviser added. |
| Posted by:Fred |