An attempted military coup took place in the remote and mountainous nation of Lesotho on Saturday , Prime Minister Thomas Thabane said in an interview aired by South African broadcaster eNCA . `` In my political life , it was not the first time that I saw this kind of activity by the Lesotho army , '' Thabane said . A lot of effort has been made to reform the military and to `` make it a normal army that is subject to the civilian authority , '' he said . Sometimes referred to as the `` Kingdom of the Sky , '' Lesotho is completely landlocked by South Africa and is the only country in the world where all of the land lies above 1,000 meters . It has a population of nearly 2 million and covers an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland , according to the World Factbook . The Lesotho government is seeking the assistance of the South African government and other neighboring states , Thabane said . The Prime Minister said that since the Lesotho military was looking for him , he decided `` to get out of the way , '' and fled to an unknown location . He told the broadcaster he would not resign . `` We ca n't have coups d'etat in 2014 . If there are political problems people must sit ( down ) and talk , '' said Clayson Monyela , a spokesman for the South African Foreign Ministry . Monyela said that the Lesotho military 's actions `` bear the hallmarks of a coup d'état . '' Kamalesh Sharma , secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations , condemned the reported coup attempt and urged the military in Lesotho to respect civilian authority , constitutional order and the rule of law . `` There is zero tolerance in the Commonwealth of any unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government , '' he said in a statement . `` Democracy and the rule of law are central tenets of our association ... and any action to subvert constitutional civilian rule is unacceptable . '' Lesotho has been independent of the United Kingdom since 1966 , but continues on as a member of the 53-nation Commonwealth . Thabane became Prime Minister in 2012 , when he formed the kingdom 's first coalition government , according to the CIA World Factbook . Elections are next due in 2017 . Jen Psaki , a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department , said the United States `` is deeply concerned by clashes between security forces today in Lesotho . '' Psaki called upon all parties to `` remain committed to a peaceful political dialogue and to follow democratic processes '' in order to resolve the conflict . Lesotho is known for its `` herd boys , '' children as young as 5 who tend flocks of cattle in remote locations and often miss out on education . Prince Harry established a charity , Sentebale , to help the country meet educational challenges .
Lesotho is a mountainous nation of 2 million landlocked by South Africa . Prime Minister Thomas Thabane says an attempted coup has taken place . He tells a South African broadcaster that he fled because the military was looking for him .