Lesotho lifts curfew in Maseru
2007-06-24 21:11
Maseru - A curfew imposed in Lesotho's capital after a series of attacks on senior political figures has been lifted, said police on Sunday.
"The curfew couldn't be there indefinitely, the situation seems a bit calm at the moment," said national police spokesperson Pheello Mphana.
He said no arrests have been made in connection with the attacks on the bodyguards of three cabinet ministers - Trade and Industry Minister Popane Lebesa, Communications Minister Mothetjoa Metsing and Motloheloa Phooko, Minister in the Premier's Office.
The attacks led to the curfew being imposed last week.
The home of the leader of the opposition All Basotho Convention, Tom Thabane, also came under fire from gunmen in what he described as an assassination attempt.
However an impasse between parties regarding the allocation of parliamentary seats, which has created tension since elections were held in February, has yet to be resolved.
The Sunday Independent reported that South Africa had deployed intelligence personnel to the country to prevent further turmoil, and that civil society and business leaders were calling for stronger international intervention to resolve the dispute.
Mphana also confirmed that a local journalist had been arrested for reading a controversial letter on a private radio station, in which the Lesotho army allegedly called Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili an unwanted ruler.