Houses petrol-bombed during Mamelodi protest

Pretoria - Houses were reportedly petrol-bombed in Mamelodi on Wednesday night during a protest, apparently over a damaged power transformer.

Public order police were deployed to the Mahube Valley overnight, police spokesperson Captain Johannes Maheso said. 

The violence apparently started when two communities in Mahube Valley started attacking each other by throwing stones over the damaged electricity transformer, which had left them without power.

It is understood that the fighting occurred between those living in a formal houses and an informal settlement which are right next to each other. 

A police source told News24 that things got out of hand between the homeowners and shack dwellers with several homes burnt to the ground, many more damaged, while about 30 shacks were burnt.

Minor injuries were allegedly reported. 

The situation remained very tense on Thursday morning with roads blocked as police monitored the situation. 

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