Twenty-eight people have been killed in two mass shootings hours apart in South Africa, in the latest outbreak of gun violence in the country.
Eighteen people were killed when eight gunmen attacked a bar near Johannesburg on Saturday evening. Police said 14 others were injured.
In a second incident in the early hours of Sunday, 10 people were shot dead outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town, with 11 more wounded.
No arrests had been made in either case by Sunday morning.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with around 60 murders recorded per day, and has struggled to contain gang-related violence and the proliferation of illegal firearms.
In the Johannesburg shooting, police said gunmen opened fire on patrons outside the bar in Bekkersdal, west of the city, before continuing the attack inside. They set two vehicles alight before fleeing.
Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni said only four of those killed had been identified so far, adding that nationals from Ethiopia and Lesotho were among those caught up in the attack, but that the majority were South African.
He said robbery appeared to be the motive, as personal belongings were taken, but police could not rule out a link to turf wars between illegal mining groups.
Unlicensed mining in abandoned shafts is a persistent problem in South Africa, often involving undocumented migrants recruited by organised crime gangs.
Deputy provincial commissioner Major General Fred Kekana earlier told the AFP news agency that the attack may have been retaliation for an incident last month in which one person was killed and another wounded. He said police had clear images and, in some cases, names of suspects.
In the Cape Town shooting, in the township of Bekkersdal? No, near Cape Town, police said five victims died at the scene and five others died later in hospital.
The shootings came days after 11 people were killed when gunmen stormed a house in KwaMakhutha township near Durban.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described organised crime as “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development.” Earlier this year, the military was deployed alongside police in areas with the highest murder rates.
On Saturday, police in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, said a tenth woman’s body had been found in the area, adding they could not rule out a serial killer.
Source: BBC
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