Visitors to the "Mdlalose Tavern" in Soweto near Johannesburg were relaxing and drinking a few beers when heavily armed men stormed the pub on Sunday night.

They shot at the guests indiscriminately with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols.

Criminals had previously caused similar horrors in two taverns in other slums in South Africa.

At least 21 people lost their lives in the three shootings over the weekend, with 15 killed in the Soweto attack alone.

At least nine other people there suffered injuries.

It was one of the worst shootings in South Africa in years.

Claudia Bröll

Political correspondent for Africa based in Cape Town.

  • Follow I follow

The residents in the affected communities are not the only ones reacting to the never-ending violence with bewilderment and anger.

Just a few days earlier, a memorial service for 21 young visitors to a pub near East London had taken place.

The youths had died from previously unexplained causes, although in this case there were no signs of external injuries.

The motives behind the bar robberies are also unclear.

Experts speculate about retaliatory or extortion actions by criminal gangs.

Such gangs have also been at war in some areas near Cape Town for years.

In many places the police have lost control or appear to be cooperating with the criminals.

The radical opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters spoke of a "terrorist attack".

South Africa has ranked high in international crime statistics for years.

The situation has recently deteriorated.

According to the Police Ministry, 6,083 people were killed in the first three months of this year.

That's the highest number in a first quarter in five years.

Murders of women and children in particular have increased sharply.

The numbers are comparable or even higher than those from some war zones.

In Ukraine, for example, 4,031 civilians were killed in the three months since the invasion began, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to the bereaved on Sunday.

He called on security officials and community residents to work together: "As a nation, we cannot allow violent criminals to terrorize us in this way." Commentators suggested tougher gun laws with voluntary amnesty.

The rapid spread of illegally obtained weapons is considered a reason for frequent shootings.