[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-e4C-b-8XI&w=480&h=270]
English/Nat
Vigilante violence flared again in South Africa Sunday when gang members and Muslim anti-drugs militants shot at one another at the end of an anti-crime rally in Cape Town.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to break up the clashes — several people were taken away in ambulances, but the extent of injuries was not immediately clear.
The two sides dispersed only after a Muslim cleric pleaded with his followers to go to the local mosque and pray.
Violence erupts once again on the streets of Cape Town.
Police fired dozens of rounds of tear gas into a 200-strong group of Muslim anti-drug vigilantes Sunday.
They belong to a radical group known as `People Against Gangsterism and Drugs’ — PAGAD.
The trouble started when protestors tried to push past police lines and break into an alleged drug dealer’s house.
PAGAD members encountered a small group of gang members, and the two sides exchanged gun fire.
It was not clear who fired first – at least one person was wounded in the exchange.
After the clash, the crowd retreated peacefully to their mosque at the urgings of their Imam.
The trouble started after five thousand PAGAD supporters gathered in a stadium in one of Cape Town’s largely Muslim neighborhoods.
They listened to speakers read messages of support from Muslim groups from around the country.
One speaker called on the government of Nelson Mandela to restore law and order.
SOUNDBITE:
“If this government of today does not shape up, then we as a people on the ground or on the playing fields, will take control.”
SUPER CAPTION: Faroek Jeffer, PAGAD leader
The mainly Muslim vigilantes have a simple — yet violent — aim.
To rid the streets of Cape Town of gangs and drug dealers.
UPSOUND:
“Kill the bastards, kill. Kill the bastards, kill. Kill the bastards, kill.”
SUPER CAPTION: PAGAD members
Last Sunday night they took the law into their own hands as they targeted suspected gang leader Rashaad Staggie.
Running gun battles broke out between the two sides.
In its wake lay Staggie — he was shot and burned alive as PAGAD’s anger turned into violence.
After the attack, his body was left on the street as the vigilantes drove off to their mosque for a prayer service.
PAGAD’s vow to step up its violent anti-gang campaign is raising fears of even more clashes between the vigilantes and the gangs.
Pagad had set Sunday as D-Day for gangsters to hand in their drugs and weapons.
Gang members took to the streets of Cape Town to show their defiance of PAGAD.
During Sunday’s march, gangsters defiantly carried their weapons while publicly smoking marijuana.
Gang members say they aren’t looking for trouble, but will fight fire with fire.
SOUNDBITE:
“We want PAGAD to see that we are not afraid of them. And we want to show Pagad that they must stop their illegal activities. If they are not going to stop with their illegal activities and go on with killing, they force us into killing.”
SUPERCAPTION: Ernie Lapeppa Peters, gang member
Tension remains high in Cape Town.
In its impoverished neighborhoods, criminals are divided up into scores of gangs that deal in drugs, prostitution and stolen goods.
One of the biggest gangs … ” The Hard Living Kids”, with three thousand members-was led by Rashaad Staggie –killed last Sunday — and his twin brother Rashied.
They retained strong local support by reportedly giving money to children and paying the rent of families about to be evicted from their homes.
But the anger expressed on both sides suggests little has been resolved since the vigilante action a week ago.
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