Follow live updates on anti-immigrant tensions currently taking place in Durban.
12pm – Fifteen suspects were arrested on Friday night after violent protests that engulfed the city of Durban and surrounding suburbs.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said this brings the number of arrested suspects to 19, including the four arrested on Thursday for attempted murder and discharging a firearm in public.
“The suspects will face charges of public violence and malicious property damage, with the possibility of other charges being added. The majority of the arrested suspects are students and intelligence officers, and detectives are continuing the search for those responsible for burning vehicles and buildings,” Netshiunda said.
Saturday 9am – Police are on high alert for anti-immigration protests in the Durban CBD.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said what unfolded was a crowd-management situation. “Police have a responsibility to preserve lives, to protect property, and at the same time strike a delicate balance between allowing people to exercise their constitutional right to march and enforcing the law,” he said.
9pm – KwaZulu-Natal police deployed public order management tactics, including tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets, as large crowds of protesters continue marching through the streets of Durban amid heightened tensions following Thursday’s violent anti-immigration protests.
In a statement issued on Friday evening, police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said officers would continue to intervene when the situation escalated, using what they described as the minimum legal force necessary to restore order.
5:54 pm – A second-hand tyre shop operating on a vacant plot of land has been set alight. Firefighters are currently on scene.
A second-hand tyre shop has been set alilght in Durban.
5:42 pm – Hundreds of protesters are making their way to the Durban CBD.
Protestors are making their way to the Durban CBD
5: 30pm – Tensions continued to flare in Durban on Friday afternoon as a house was set alight in the Berea area.
Firefighters are currently at the scene.
It is believed angry protesters set fire to the house, believed to have been used for prostitution and drugs.
However, this has not been confirmed.
There is a heavy police presence in the area.
Nearby, a motorbike was also set alight on Clark Road in Berea.
Vaughan Reid, chairman of Umbilo CPF, described the situation as volatile.
He said protesters have been stoning cars and windows
Anti-immigration protests turned violent on Thursday as more than 10 cars were burnt in the Durban CBD.
Earlier today, Acting National Police Minister Firoz Cachalia did a walkabout in the Durban CBD.
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