South Africa: Police bloody crackdown on thousands of mine workers

Eighteen people were killed and dozens more injured when police opened fire on 3,000 miners protesting.

The bloody riot occurred at an open-pit mine where about 3,000 miners were protesting against the authorities. The situation became more serious when these workers refused to obey the government's order to disperse and continued to gather at the workplace to protest for higher wages, forcing the authorities to call in riot police to disperse the crowd.

Police responded to the violent actions of the protesters.

According to the source, initially, the police force at the scene used a water cannon to spray water on the protesters. However, the police's efforts could not overwhelm the crowd, and in addition, some miners' agitation to attack the police forced the riot forces to use tear gas grenades and stun bombs.

What is worth mentioning is that it did not stop there, according to evidence recorded by the private television channel ETV, the riot police immediately opened fire on the extremists with automatic rifles and pistols. The incident only stopped when a senior officer signaled a ceasefire. After the riot police responded with gunfire, a terrifying scene occurred, with smoke and dust, many people had fallen, and the sound of ambulance sirens rushing to take people to the emergency room. This action from the police killed at least 18 people and injured many others.

After the horrific incident, senior officials and authorities said it was an accident and that South Africa had actually stabilized since the end of apartheid in 1994. However, this action from the police reminded us of the Apartheid that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a period that, until now, every time South Africans recall it, they feel horrified by the behaviors, rules, and laws of discrimination that no one could have expected.

Authorities said the unrest at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine began on August 10, when about 3,000 workers staged an illegal strike. Lonmin is the world's third-largest platinum producer, according to officials. However, in recent times, amid economic uncertainty, the global value of platinum has increased by more than $30 per ounce per trading session, while Lonmin shares have fallen 6.76% on the London Stock Exchange due to the prolonged protest by workers.

Some local officials said that bad groups were taking advantage of the unrest to incite violence among the miners. Some even bought weapons to join the protests. On Monday, a mob of protesters killed 10 miners and two police officers. The situation forced the authorities to call in riot police to disperse the crowd, leading to the unfortunate incident.

A representative of the mining company Lonmin said that since the strike, demanding that the workers' wages double to £1,000 a month, the company's share price has fallen by more than 12% compared to the same period last year.

According to Nguoiduatin-M