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JOHANNESBURG.
South African police said yesterday they had arrested 32 striking truckers who had forced two of their non-striking colleagues off the road, assaulted them and set fire to their trucks.
“They forced the drivers out of their trucks and assaulted them.
“The drivers managed to escape unharmed but the striking drivers started to loot the trucks and damage everything before setting on fire,” police spokesman Duane Lightfoot told AFP.
He said the incident happened in South Africa’s capital city Pretoria at the Irene train station, and that the attackers would be charged with arson and attempted murder.
One driver who escaped the incident said his attackers accused him of being a sell-out, the Sapa news agency reported.
Lightfoot said the drivers “escaped in time and as a result they were physically fine but in shock”.
Media have reported several incidents of violence and intimidation against non-striking workers during the four-day-old strike.
Two workers were admitted to hospital on Wednesday after they were forced off the road and attacked with sticks and machetes by striking colleagues in the northeastern province of Mpumalanga, Beeld newspaper reported.
Three other truck drivers who were also forced off the road in the attack managed to escape, the newspaper said. One of them reportedly ran to a nearby farm and called for help. – AFP.