South African police under siege in township demos

Mar 23, 2010, 16:52 GMT

Johannesburg - A group of South African police had to shoot their way out of an armoured personnel carrier at the weekend after being besieged by angry demonstrators protesting over poor service delivery, police said Tuesday.

The past few weeks have seen a fresh outbreak of violent protests in townships across South Africa.

The protests over poor living conditions come as the country attempts to project an image of stability with less than three months to go to the football World Cup.

Ten policemen were riding inside an armoured personnel carrier (APC) when it was attacked by protestors in Ogies township, north-eastern Mpumalanga province, a police spokesman told the SAPA news agency.

The demonstrators lured the vehicle over large spikes that blew out its tyres and threw petrol bombs at it, Captain Leonard Hlathi said.

The police returned fire with live ammunition before making an escape, he said.

At least one protestor was injured during the violence and 32 people were arrested, he said.

A further 29 people were arrested following a protest in another township in Mpumalanga province, in which a municipal building was burnt down, he added.

APCs known as Casspirs in South Africa were a common sight in black townships during the apartheid era when police used them to fire on protestors demanding an end to white supremacist rule.

In the past few years, they have made a comeback as township dwellers return to the streets to demand that the ruling African National Congress deliver on its promise of a better life for all post-apartheid.

The protests have become a feature of the May-September winter months, when freezing temperatures in cities such as Johannesburg and Pretoria add to the hardship of the millions who live in tin shacks.

This year, the protests have begun earlier, as political parties begin jockeying for position in the run-up to local elections in 2011.

Johannesburg's The Star newspaper, in its Tuesday edition, counted 27 major service delivery protests across five of nine provinces between January 25 and March 15. Most of the protests took place in Gauteng province, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are situated.

Johannesburg is the location of the opening game and final in the June 11 - July 11 World Cup, which police have vowed to secure.