Anger, clashes in South Africa following gang rape arrests

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

KRUGERSDORP, South Africa (AP) — Community members in the South African city of Krugersdorp have beaten suspected illegal miners with sticks and set fire to their camps following the arrests of more than 80 men suspected of gang raping eight women last week. Some of the suspects are thought to be miners. Residents of Krugersdorp’s Kagiso township also barricaded roads with rocks and burning tires during a protest Thursday against the presence of the miners. They say they are frustrated with high levels of crime in the area that they blame on the illegal miners and the failures of the police to deal with them. Some suspected illegal miners were stripped of their clothes and whipped by residents.