Johannesburg, South Africa
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alexalonso
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Johannesburg, South Africa
I have heard of youth groups gang activity here.
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Mcminister
- Heavy Weight
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- Joined: July 4th, 2006, 4:15 pm
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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 03,00.html
May 20, 2008
JOHANNESBURG: Twelve people have been killed in a wave of weekend violence against immigrants around Johannesburg, with gangs of armed youths rampaging through poor areas in South Africa's economic capital.
President Thabo Mbeki announced that a panel had been set up to look into the xenophobic attacks, and the South African Red Cross said it had launched an appeal to help displaced people.
"There have been 12 murders since Friday," provincial police communications director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said when asked about the troubles, which intensified over the weekend and spread to outlying areas.
Since the beginning of last week, foreigners have been targeted by mobs carrying machetes and guns in several run-down parts of the city, despite pleas for calm and condemnation of the attacks from politicians.
Police spokeswoman Cheryl Engelbrecht said overnight violence in the inner city had left sixdead, 50 people in hospital, and looted shops and burnt cars.
The bulk of the immigrants who have flooded into South Africa in recent years are from neighbouring Zimbabwe, with an estimated three million having fled the economic meltdown and political crisis in their country.
They have been targeted as they are blamed by some locals for crime and unemployment. Some Zimbabweans say they are also accused of being behind rising food prices.
An AFP reporter saw armed police recover a body in the notorious Hillbrow area of the inner city. They fired dozens of rubber bullets to disperse gangs in the surrounding area.
Mr Mbeki urged the police to act firmly against the perpetrators, the domestic news agency SAPA reported. "We hope the panel and the police will work together to help us answer who is behind this," the President said.
The head of the ruling African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, also condemned the violence.
"We cannot allow South Africa to be famous for xenophobia," Mr Zuma said from Pretoria. "We cannot be a xenophobic country."
He recalled the role neighbouring countries had played in sheltering ANC members in their fight against the the apartheid regime in South Africa.
"We should be the last people to have this problem of having a negative attitude towards our brothers and sisters who come from outside," he said.
Eric Goemaere, co-ordinator for humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres in Johannesburg, said the violence had intensified on Sunday, with victims describing gangs of youths raiding homes looking for foreigners.
"The situation today is even more tense than during the week," Mr Goemare said.
"The victims say there are organised gangs of 100 to 300 youths who are breaking into homes, apartments and shacks.
"The violence is quite extreme - one woman was thrown out of a first-floor window and fell on a car. There is an intention to kill."
A photographer for South Africa's The Star newspaper said he had witnessed a man being set alight in a slum in the East Rand region, about 50km east of Johannesburg, where the violence spread yesterday. "We found a guy wrapped up in his belongings. They'd obviously beaten him, wrapped him up, then set fire to him," Shayne Robinson said, adding that gangs of up 300 youths were confronting police.
In another incident, a church where about 1000 Zimbabweans were taking refuge was attacked, according to Mr Goemaere, as well as a police station that was providing shelter to foreigners.
The acting secretary-general of the South African Red Cross, David Stephens, said the organisation had launched a campaign to help victims of the attacks who have been forced to flee. "We have made an appeal to the public to assist us to help people who are destitute," he said.
**NOTE THAT** police in africa call 5 youths doing crime together a gang...they can jst be friends or people from the same section or w.e...yeaa hillborrow is a very violent area....1time a long time ago police did testing of how would citizen react to 10 minutes of automatic gun shots...they shot they guns for 10 minutes riding aruond the hillborrow area and they only recieved 1 phone call......
May 20, 2008
JOHANNESBURG: Twelve people have been killed in a wave of weekend violence against immigrants around Johannesburg, with gangs of armed youths rampaging through poor areas in South Africa's economic capital.
President Thabo Mbeki announced that a panel had been set up to look into the xenophobic attacks, and the South African Red Cross said it had launched an appeal to help displaced people.
"There have been 12 murders since Friday," provincial police communications director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said when asked about the troubles, which intensified over the weekend and spread to outlying areas.
Since the beginning of last week, foreigners have been targeted by mobs carrying machetes and guns in several run-down parts of the city, despite pleas for calm and condemnation of the attacks from politicians.
Police spokeswoman Cheryl Engelbrecht said overnight violence in the inner city had left sixdead, 50 people in hospital, and looted shops and burnt cars.
The bulk of the immigrants who have flooded into South Africa in recent years are from neighbouring Zimbabwe, with an estimated three million having fled the economic meltdown and political crisis in their country.
They have been targeted as they are blamed by some locals for crime and unemployment. Some Zimbabweans say they are also accused of being behind rising food prices.
An AFP reporter saw armed police recover a body in the notorious Hillbrow area of the inner city. They fired dozens of rubber bullets to disperse gangs in the surrounding area.
Mr Mbeki urged the police to act firmly against the perpetrators, the domestic news agency SAPA reported. "We hope the panel and the police will work together to help us answer who is behind this," the President said.
The head of the ruling African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, also condemned the violence.
"We cannot allow South Africa to be famous for xenophobia," Mr Zuma said from Pretoria. "We cannot be a xenophobic country."
He recalled the role neighbouring countries had played in sheltering ANC members in their fight against the the apartheid regime in South Africa.
"We should be the last people to have this problem of having a negative attitude towards our brothers and sisters who come from outside," he said.
Eric Goemaere, co-ordinator for humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres in Johannesburg, said the violence had intensified on Sunday, with victims describing gangs of youths raiding homes looking for foreigners.
"The situation today is even more tense than during the week," Mr Goemare said.
"The victims say there are organised gangs of 100 to 300 youths who are breaking into homes, apartments and shacks.
"The violence is quite extreme - one woman was thrown out of a first-floor window and fell on a car. There is an intention to kill."
A photographer for South Africa's The Star newspaper said he had witnessed a man being set alight in a slum in the East Rand region, about 50km east of Johannesburg, where the violence spread yesterday. "We found a guy wrapped up in his belongings. They'd obviously beaten him, wrapped him up, then set fire to him," Shayne Robinson said, adding that gangs of up 300 youths were confronting police.
In another incident, a church where about 1000 Zimbabweans were taking refuge was attacked, according to Mr Goemaere, as well as a police station that was providing shelter to foreigners.
The acting secretary-general of the South African Red Cross, David Stephens, said the organisation had launched a campaign to help victims of the attacks who have been forced to flee. "We have made an appeal to the public to assist us to help people who are destitute," he said.
**NOTE THAT** police in africa call 5 youths doing crime together a gang...they can jst be friends or people from the same section or w.e...yeaa hillborrow is a very violent area....1time a long time ago police did testing of how would citizen react to 10 minutes of automatic gun shots...they shot they guns for 10 minutes riding aruond the hillborrow area and they only recieved 1 phone call......
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Mcminister
- Heavy Weight
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