South Africa police fire rubber bullets on protesters

By Hassan Isilow</p> <p>JOHANNESBURG (AA) – Police in South Africa on Wednesday fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who were demanding better service delivery in Bekkersdal Township, west of Johannesburg.</p> <p>“We used rubber bullets after residents started looting shops belonging to foreign nationals,” Johannesburg police spokesman Capt. Kay Makhubela told Anadolu Agency.</p> <p>He said the angry residents blockaded roads and burnt tires disrupting the flow of traffic.</p> <p>Makhubela said although protesters have a right to march, police could not sit and watch them infringing on the rights of other people.</p> <p>Residents and police were involved in running battles in the township, with some residents seen pelting stones at the police who responded with teargas and rubber bullets.</p> <p>“One person has been arrested and the situation is still tense,” Makhubela said, adding that several police officers have been deployed in the area.</p> <p>Over 1,000 protesters blocked roads demanding electricity, better housing and proper sanitation.</p> <p>Majority of residents in the area live in tinned houses with several families sharing a single toilet.</p> <p>“Our government promised to give us free low cost houses, but we have been patiently waiting since 1994 in vain,” Bekkersdale resident Michel Mazibuko told Anadolu Agency.</p> <p>Many protests have erupted in South Africa in the recent weeks as residents demand better services ahead of the May 8 general election.</p> <p>Many South Africans don’t have proper housing and live in shanty towns with little services rendered to them.