Three people were wounded, 10 arrested, and two police vans damaged during a service delivery protest in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape police said on Tuesday.
About 500 people barricaded Mgwali Road with stones and burning tyres on Monday, Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said.
“They uprooted road signs in a protest against a lack of electricity and houses. When police arrived the protesters threw stones at their vehicles severely damaging two vans in the process.”
The officers fired rubber bullets to disperse the residents and arrested 10 people. Fatyela said the situation was calm on Tuesday morning but police were still patrolling the area.
Three people were taken to a local hospital with rubber bullet injuries. Those arrested were expected to face charges of public violence and malicious damage to property in the Ngcobo Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
The Chris Hani district municipality, under which Ngcobo fell, was not immediately available for comment. – Sapa