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Some 200 soldiers deployed a year ago to strengthen security in Lesotho after the badbadination of the country's highest army commander have left the landlocked kingdom, a senior official said Wednesday.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional bloc, deployed a force after Khoantle Motsomotso was shot in a barracks by officers belonging to an alleged rival faction.
The shooting took place two months after the elections and gave rise to the hope of ushering in a new era of stability in this volatile country.
The seven-nation SADC force, which included 207 military personnel, 15 intelligence officers and 24 police officers, was deployed for six months and then extended to one year.
The mission was deployed to help "strengthen peace and security" in the kingdom, told AFP Barbara Lopi, spokesperson for SADC. "It's the completion of a mission."
At a ceremony marking the end of the mission last week, SADC Executive Secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax praised "the good progress" made in restoring security.
"The working relationship between the various security agencies, the government and civil society has improved considerably," she said.
Prime Minister Thomas Thabane said the SADC mission had left Lesotho "with the certainty that our security agencies would now respect civilian authority and direct their services in accordance with the constitution."
Known as the African Switzerland for its mountainous landscapes, Lesotho has a long history of political instability having also undergone coups in 1986 and 1991.
In 2015, a former army chief was shot dead by soldiers who claimed he was resisting arrest outside the capital Maseru.
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