An informal settlement overlooking Cape Town's Hout Bay harbour turned into a war zone yesterday as Western Cape police fought hundreds of furious rioters.
The battle broke out at about 6.30am when police and demolition crews, ordered to knock down 29 illegally erected shacks, encountered barricades on the way into the Hangberg informal settlement on the slopes of Sentinel mountain.
The rioters pelted the police with rocks, flares and petrol bombs. The police retaliated by firing hundreds of rubber bullets.
Running battles ensu ed between the residents and 300 officers backed by six armoured vehicles .
Mariam Samaai, 19, sobbed as she told of how her mother and two younger sisters, aged 13 and 17, were dragged from their home by police: "[They] kicked the door and dragged my mummy out."
At a community meeting two weeks ago, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille was jeered as she said illegal structures built on the mountain's firebreak and nature reserve would be removed.
She told The Times yesterday that the city spent R8-million buying land in the area for housing.
- The Times
The battle broke out at about 6.30am when police and demolition crews, ordered to knock down 29 illegally erected shacks, encountered barricades on the way into the Hangberg informal settlement on the slopes of Sentinel mountain.
The rioters pelted the police with rocks, flares and petrol bombs. The police retaliated by firing hundreds of rubber bullets.
Running battles ensu ed between the residents and 300 officers backed by six armoured vehicles .
Mariam Samaai, 19, sobbed as she told of how her mother and two younger sisters, aged 13 and 17, were dragged from their home by police: "[They] kicked the door and dragged my mummy out."
At a community meeting two weeks ago, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille was jeered as she said illegal structures built on the mountain's firebreak and nature reserve would be removed.
She told The Times yesterday that the city spent R8-million buying land in the area for housing.
- The Times
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