DHAKA: Lesotho prime minister Tom Thabane confirmed Saturday that the military had seized power in a coup in the tiny kingdom and that he had fled to neighbouring South Africa in fear of his life.

‘I have been removed from control not by the people but by the armed forces, and that is illegal,’ Thabane told the BBC reports The Straits Times.

‘I came into South Africa this morning and I will return as soon as my life is not in danger,’ he said. ‘I will not go back to Lesotho to get killed’.

Lesotho’s military seized control of police headquarters and the premier's residence in the capital Maseru in the early hours of Saturday, but later withdrew, a government minister told media.

BDST: 1638 HRS, AUG 30, 2014