Police fire rubber bullets to scatter protesters as violence flares in South African towns

SAfrica police fire rubber bullets at protesters

JOHANNESBURG — Police fired rubber bullets at residents protesting poor living standards as similar protests spread across South Africa.

Police spokeswoman Wanda Olivier said police on Thursday dispersed an illegal march and arrested 13 people for public violence in Diepsloot, a poor settlement near Johannesburg. She said 19 people were injured. Residents want the mayor to resign.

Police also fired rubber bullets against protesters near a stadium that will be used for next year’s World Cup in the eastern town of Nelspruit. Protesters set a police vehicle alight, said the area’s police spokeswoman Sibongile Nkosi.

Residents were protesting against government’s failure to build them a school, after relocating them to make way for construction of the stadium.