Gunmen stormed a homestead in a township in South Africa’s eastern port city of Durban, killing 11 people, the head of the provincial government and police said on Wednesday.
Local television station eNCA reported that the attackers forced everyone into a room before shooting them and also set fire to a car belonging to one of the victims. “There is no place in our communities for the senseless taking of human lives. Acting police chief Puleng Dimpane said she had activated a 72-hour tracking operation to pursue and apprehend those responsible.
“The victims, including a pregnant woman, were gathered at a house shortly before 11:00 pm (2100 GMT Tuesday) when armed assailants reportedly entered the premises and opened fire,” Thamsanqa Ntuli, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, of which Durban is the main city, told AFP. Three other people survived the attack in the township of KwaMakhutha south of Durban, police said. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, police said, adding that investigators were following a “promising” lead that could assist in the case. “The incident has left the community in profound shock and grief,” Ntuli said. Police must act decisively, mobilise all available resources and pursue those responsible until they are brought before the courts,” she said in a statement.
