Lesotho’s defence force chief‚ Khoantle Motsomotso‚ has been assassinated by his deputies sparking fears of a possible coup.

While the country’s Permanent Secretary for the ministry of defence and national security‚ Tanki Mothae‚ declined to divulge the names of those killed‚ he confirmed that the shooting had taken place at the military’s headquarters.

He said that two other people‚ who had been involved in the shooting‚ had been killed.

“The incident happened between 9am and 10am today. All three are members of the defence force. An investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances around the shooting‚” he said.

He said members of the Lesotho Defence Force‚ who were stationed both in and outside of Maseru‚ had been addressed by their commanders.

“Obviously there was a lot of confusion. Troops were addressed to restore calm.”

Mothae said that he had been in contact with the various embassies in Lesotho to inform them of the situation.

“The situation at the time in Maseru is calm. Life is carrying on as normal‚” he said.

Mapisa-Nqakula in urgent discussions over situation in Lesotho after assassination of defence chief

Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is locked in discussions with all relevant stakeholders over the assassination of the Lesotho Defence Force chief.

Khoantle Motsomotso was shot dead by senior defence force officers this morning‚ sparking fears of a possible coup in the Mountain Kingdom.

Two of the gunmen‚ including another senior defence force ministry officer‚ were killed in the shooting which is said have lasted nearly 40-minutes.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s spokesman Joy Peters said that the minister was in a meeting in Parliament where she was in discussions with all the “relevant decision makers” to discussion the situation in Lesotho.

“The situation is being monitored. No decision has been taken on any deployments of the South African National Defence Force as of yet.”

She declined to comment further.