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Police Blamed for Fifth Death in South Africa protests

A South African man Thursday was wounded and later died after police fired shots at a protest march that turned violent near Johannesburg, a police spokeswoman said.

The 28-year-old became the fifth protester to die allegedly at the hands of police in separate demonstrations in just the past two weeks.

Residents of Durban Deep, an informal settlement near Johannesburg, barricaded roads with burning tires and tree trunks after rumors that they were going to be forcibly evicted from their dwellings.

"When police arrived and tried to remove the barricades, the protesters descended upon them and then warning shots were fired," said police spokeswoman Katlego Mogale.

"Later they found out one person was injured and taken to hospital, and he was declared dead at the hospital," she said.

It was unclear whether police had used live ammunition or rubber bullets.

Four others were killed last week in a police crackdown on protests over poor municipal service delivery in a town near Pretoria. Three died after officers said they fired rubber bullets, while another was allegedly pushed from a moving police van.

A police watchdog is investigating all the deaths.

South Africa's police are frequently embroiled in allegations of brutality, but prosecutions are rare.

Experts count hundreds of violent protests over substandard delivery of housing, electricity and water every year in Africa's wealthiest country, which is dogged by stubborn levels of inequality.

Source: Agence France Presse


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