3 Killed in S. Africa Black Rivalry

Three blacks were stabbed to death and a mob threw stones and fired shots at police in one of the worst days of violence in a year-old power struggle between rival black groups in South Africa’s Natal province.

The deaths brought to 13 the number of people killed last week in black townships near the Natal capital of Pietermaritzburg, police reported Saturday. More than 200 people have died this year in killings in the normally tranquil area.

A young black man was stabbed to death at Henley Dam near Pietermaritzburg on Friday, police said. The crowd threw stones at policemen who approached the scene and shots were fired. Two policemen were injured.

In two other incidents, an 18-year-old man was hacked to death by three knife-wielding assailants in the township of Mpumalanga, and the body of the third victim was found stabbed at Willow Fountain, a suburb of Pietermaritzburg.