Africa News
One dead, several injured in Soweto riots: report
Sep 3, 2007, 11:19 GMT
Johannesburg - The South African township of Soweto outside Johannesburg was the scene of pitched battles between several hundred demonstrators and police Monday in a protest over service delivery that left one dead and several injured, according to various reports.
The protest began around dawn Monday when residents of Protea South squatter camp in Soweto barricaded a busy artery leading to Johannesburg engaging police in a tense stand-off.
By early afternoon police were pursuing the crowd through the streets of the settlement, using rubber bullets and water cannon on the stone-throwing protestors.
One protestor was killed when a delivery van ran him over in trying to navigate around the barricade, and several people, including several journalists, were injured by rocks or rubber bullets, SAfm radio and witnesses reported.
Police had yet to confirm the casualty toll.
Protests over a lack of basic services including housing, electricity and water and corruption in local government occur on an almost weekly basis in poor communities across South Africa.
Discontent in these communities is mounting as millions of people continue to live in tin shacks without running water, sanitation or electricity.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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