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LequteMan
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South African police fired rubber bullets on Wednesday at stone throwing supporters of the ruling ANC who tried to confront members of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party as they marched in central Johannesburg.
The incident is a sign of rising tensions in South Africa before the general elections on May 7.
This is seen as the biggest political test yet for President Jacob Zuma and his African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power for 20 years since the end of white apartheid rule.
Police, who came between the lines of the rival supporters, opened fire briefly at ANC members clad in the party's yellow T-shirts.
A police spokesman said petrol bombs were also thrown at officers who responded with stun grenades as well as rubber bullets.
After the brief clash with police the marchers turned around and the protest ended, with DA members saying they had decided to call things off to prevent further violence.
“We knew we were not getting to our end destination from the start, because the ANC came with missiles, petrol bombs, bricks and stones. I was amazed that the police allowed them to do that,” DA leader Helen Zille told local TV news channel eNCA.
Commentators have viewed the march by the DA, the country's biggest opposition party, as an action or provocation deliberately designed to expose what the opposition says is the ANC's intolerant nature.
The incident is a sign of rising tensions in South Africa before the general elections on May 7.
This is seen as the biggest political test yet for President Jacob Zuma and his African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power for 20 years since the end of white apartheid rule.
Police, who came between the lines of the rival supporters, opened fire briefly at ANC members clad in the party's yellow T-shirts.
A police spokesman said petrol bombs were also thrown at officers who responded with stun grenades as well as rubber bullets.
After the brief clash with police the marchers turned around and the protest ended, with DA members saying they had decided to call things off to prevent further violence.
“We knew we were not getting to our end destination from the start, because the ANC came with missiles, petrol bombs, bricks and stones. I was amazed that the police allowed them to do that,” DA leader Helen Zille told local TV news channel eNCA.
Commentators have viewed the march by the DA, the country's biggest opposition party, as an action or provocation deliberately designed to expose what the opposition says is the ANC's intolerant nature.
