Gunmen kill 11 and leave four others fighting for life when they open fire on minibus full of cab drivers in Johannesburg ‘taxi war’
- Police said victims of Saturday night attack had attended funeral of a colleague
- Brig. Jay Naicker said attack happened between towns of Colenso and Weenen
- Tensions between groups of drivers vying for same routes often become violent
Eleven people have been killed and four others critically wounded after gunmen fired on a minibus taking taxi drivers to Johannesburg, South African police have said.
Police spokesman Jay Naicker said the victims of the Saturday night attack had attended the funeral of a colleague and were returning home when the ambush occurred.
‘There was a shooting at about 8pm (6pm GMT) last night. The vehicle was ambushed. There were 11 fatalities and four were seriously injured and are in hospital.
Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa. Pictured: A stock image showing taxis in South Africa
‘We understand they were from the Gauteng taxi association. There has been a lot of taxi violence in the area but we are still investigating who the perpetrators were.’
He said the attack happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province and the victims were from Gauteng province.
Police are investigating possible motives.
Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa.
South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.
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