South Africa's slums vulnerable to violence (Reuters)
Police in South Africa said on Sunday they had opened a murder investigation into a group that tied up and burned to death seven young men, adding that a gang accused of being behind a series of crimes in the northern Johannesburg town of Depsloot was behind the incident.
Police spokesman Mavilla Masondo said the motive for the killings was not yet clear, but stressed that the police strongly condemned the self-retribution and the responsibility of community members to administer justice themselves, which is a serious criminal offence.
Police have stepped up patrols in the slums most vulnerable to violence.
South Africa is facing a steady rise in homicide rates, but community elders say authorities have abandoned the town of Deepsulot, a town of more than 350,<> people plagued by murder and rape.
South Africa recorded 68 killings per day in the second quarter of this year, an increase of about 20% over the same period in 2019.
Source: French