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Two mass shootings in South African townships killed at least 27 people within hours, while a third attack at a Durban house party killed 11, as police hunt multiple gunmen.
Two separate mass shootings in South African townships within hours left at least 27 people dead, police said Sunday. A third mass shooting days earlier near Durban killed at least 11 people at a house party.
Weekend Attacks In Townships
In the first of the weekend attacks, eight gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar near Johannesburg late Saturday. Police said 17 people were killed at the venue in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg. The attackers fired at patrons outside the bar before moving inside and continuing to shoot. Victims included 13 men and four women, with at least 15 others injured, police said.
The gunmen searched some patrons and took their mobile phones before escaping in two vehicles. Two cars were set alight outside the bar during the shooting. About four hours later, 10 people were killed and 11 wounded at a store linked to an entertainment venue in Lwandle township near Cape Town. Police were searching for multiple suspects but did not give an exact number.
No arrests have been made in either case. Police deployed specialized units to both townships and surrounding areas in the hunt for the gunmen. The attacks came five days after another mass shooting in a township near Durban killed at least 11 people, including a pregnant woman. Multiple gunmen attacked a house party in KwaMakhutha township.
Police Search For Gunmen
Police have not reported any arrests. Wedela resident Siyabonga Nondabula said there had been shootings in the area involving illegal mining gangs, but none targeted so many people. Seventeen people and maybe even more have died, this has never happened here, he said. So I feel very sad and traumatized.
A high rate of killings is a longstanding problem for Africa's most advanced economy, but mass shootings are becoming more common, experts say. Recent killings are often carried out by multiple gunmen. Gun homicides mostly affect South Africa's poorest communities in townships and informal settlements. Police have linked some recent shootings, including last week's house party killings near Durban, to criminal gangs.
Other recent mass shootings include one in June in a poor neighbourhood of Johannesburg that killed 12 people. Two shootings in December left a total of 21 people dead. South Africa's violent crime problem prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to deploy soldiers on the streets in March. The yearlong operation aims to combat crime in the worst-affected areas.
Illegal Firearms And Homicides
The deployment included high-crime areas around Johannesburg and Cape Town, among others. Ramaphosa said crime by organized gangs was the biggest threat to South Africa's democracy and economic development. Some critics viewed the use of soldiers on the streets as an admission that police were failing. Soldiers were deployed Sunday to the scene of the bar shooting in Wedela.
South Africa recorded 5,427 homicides in the three months ending June 30, an average of nearly 60 a day, according to police statistics. Shootings are the most common method of homicide. Police and crime experts have long identified the large number of illegal firearms in circulation as a major problem. Firearm ownership is legal but heavily regulated and subject to strict competency requirements.
Estimates from political parties and the country's national gun owners association suggest between 2 million and 6 million illegal firearms are in circulation. Those groups say the weapons are used in the vast majority of gun homicides. Gerald Imray of The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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CTVToronto:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
South Africa Mass Shootings Wedela Township Bar Attack Lwandle Township Shooting Kwamakhutha House Party Killings South Africa Gun Violence
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