A statement from the ministry of provincial affairs said 4,000 refugees had fled Lesotho into South Africa and that many more were expected.

The capital of Lesotho, Maseru, has been virtually destroyed by looting and fighting which began when South African troops crossed into the kingdom on Tuesday.

The BBC's Jeremy Vine talks to refugees on the South African border

The looting and rioting spread to several villages across the troubled kingdom, but it was still unclear who was to blame - soldiers or poor villagers.

Many of the refugees are reported to be ethnic Chinese and Indian traders.

Maseru: relatively calm, but virtually destroyed

South African army officers believe a number of Lesotho rebels have swapped their uniforms for civilian clothing and fled to the hills, looting and burning.

"We have got information that renegades have moved south and robbed police stations for weapons, and we know that they are causing problems outside Maseru, but we are constrained with (the number) of our forces," said General Siphiwe Nyanda, the head of the South African Defence Forces.

He was not able to estimate how strong a force might be left to resist his troops, but did not believe he was in any danger of getting bogged down in a protracted campaign.

"I don't think we have a guerrilla war on our hands," he said.

Earlier, Lesotho's Prime Minister, Pakalitha Mosisili, announced in a radio address that an anti-government mutiny had been quelled as government ministers and senior army officers who had fled for their lives have returned to Lesotho.

They had been arrested by junior ranks and forced to resign in a disagreement over the opposition protests.

The seven weeks of unrest in the tiny kingdom was sparked by opposition allegations of vote-rigging in the general election in May.

King denied radio access

The brother of the Lesotho monarch, Letsie III, said on Friday that the king has been prevented by the prime minister from addressing the nation on state radio.

The king's brother, Seeiso Seeiso, told South African radio that the king had wanted to speak to the people following the intervention of South African forces to put down a week-long rebellion.

"It was his greatest wish to address his people as a nation, in this time of turmoil... but it seems thus far as if his prime minister feels that it is not proper for His Majesty to address his people."

Correspondents say the king believes the South African intervention - supported by the Lesotho government - may have inflamed rather than helped resolve the political crisis.