Sixteen people were arrested during protests by community members from Duncan Village, East London on Friday, Eastern Cape police said.
Lieutenant Colonel Mtati Tana said disgruntled community members protested on the Ziphunzane bypass road from about 4am.
“A crowd of about 300 blocked the road and started burning tyres and throwing stones at cars that were driving past.
“Police arrived and warned them to stop but they continued. Rubber bullets had to be fired to disperse the crowd,” he said.
It took police about three hours to control the protesters.
“Police struggled until 7am to persuade them to leave. Traffic was blocked for some time causing a great delay,” Tana said.
Police were not sure what the community was protesting about. - Sapa