"Please anybody who can support. Central City, we urgently need support."
"Our ammo is finished. These people are attacking us. Please,' said one of the policemen frenetically calling for help during fighting between looters and Mapona city on Wednesday-night (22 June 2016), So frenetic was the fighting between looters and police in Mabopane City on Wednesday night that officers under attack ran out of rubber bullets
#TshwaneUnrest #Mabopane Police make their way through the Centeral City Mall where looters have struck. pic.twitter.com/GHhi8kVWNy— Reinart Toerien (@ray_toerien) 23 June 2016
News24 obtained two radio transmissions from desperate police officials who were surrounded on the ground. In the transmissions, an officer urgently calls for backup.
“Urgent backup! Urgent backup Central City! Urgent backup Central City!”
“Ya gents please…please…anyone who can assist…please…we need urgent backup at Central City…we are even out of rounds…these people are attacking us…please,” the officer says.
Looting reached fever pitch in Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa, Soshanguve and Mamelodi, with the cover of nightfall adding an advantage for the thieves.
Police officers from across the province descended on the townships in an effort to quell the criminality and are stretched thin.
A police source with knowledge of the operation, who could not be named as he is not authorised to the speak to the media, said officers are struggling to cope.
“There are simply not enough police officers and we are overwhelmed. With the way we are engaging these people while trying to protect property and disperse them we are running out of rubber bullets. A lot of people haven’t even been issued with rubber rounds,” he said.
Days of violent civil unrest, which started with protests and have since degenerated into mass looting, have followed the ANC’s announcement of Thoko Didiza as their preferred mayoral candidate for Tshwane. Two people have been killed and over 40 others arrested so far.
Two News24 journalists, Jeff Wicks and Karabo Ngoepe, have launched a case of assault and intimidation against the police: the two tried to shoot a video of police firing off rubber bullets at a mob in Ga-Rankuwa. The police demanded that they erace the video and photos and took away their phone.
Also, Jody Jacobs, TV-journalist at e-NCA and camera man Noluthando Hlope were robbed by three black men in Mamelodi on Wednesday night.
Stolen were their camera and tripod. SA-FM also tweeted that an SABC journalist was attacked and robbed in Mabopane.
SAfm het getwiet ’n SAUK-joernalis is in Mabopane aangeval en beroof.
https://youtu.be/zwmyStL2Wy0
https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1360156427331526&id=116752351671946
ALSO WATCH:
Julius Malema rage at Tembisa cops after EFF members were attacked by black males: 'you are useless, people are dying here'
ALSO WATCH:
Julius Malema rage at Tembisa cops after EFF members were attacked by black males: 'you are useless, people are dying here'
#StopWhiteGenocideInSA
