Rival Black Groups Battle in S. Africa; Scores of Homes Burn, Hundreds Flee
Rival Zulu factions battled with guns, clubs and knives Wednesday in Natal province, setting scores of homes on fire and forcing hundreds of villagers to flee into the countryside.
Soldiers and police patrolled Natal in an effort to quell the violence, which broke out Tuesday and has killed at least two people. Local reporters said that up to 14 people have been killed.
“The whole so-called ‘Valley of Death’ is covered with blue smoke. I saw 120 homes burning at the same time in a radius of (15 miles),” said journalist Khaba Mkhize after flying over the Edendale Valley near Pietermaritzburg.
As night fell, officials and monitors reported 1,500 people fleeing the townships with their belongings loaded onto trucks.
Army units and extra police were deployed after about 2,000 Zulus supporting the Inkatha party went on a rampage with guns and knives against supporters of the rival United Democratic Front.
Police say the violence was sparked by the stoning of Inkatha buses in UDF areas after a rally.
Inkatha is fighting the UDF for control of the region. Both groups oppose apartheid, South Africa’s system of racial segregation. However, Inkatha supports separate states for different tribes or ethnic groups, while the UDF wants a black majority government.
Hundreds of people have been killed in black factional fighting in recent weeks in Natal.
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