Soweto Killing Breaks a Calm
- Share via
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A policeman was killed Friday in Soweto in an attack blamed by police on black guerrillas, breaking a monthlong lull in political murders in South Africa’s biggest black township.
The Human Rights Commission monitoring violence said Soweto, home to more than 3 million blacks, was clear of political murders in January for the first time in more than 2 1/2 years.
But in a detailed monthly report on political violence in the country, the commission said there was a marked shift in attacks to Natal province.
Safoora Sadek, national director of South Africa’s Human Rights Commission, attributed the decline in Soweto to increased world attention and a September record of understanding between the African National Congress and government to try to halt the slide into anarchy.
Police blamed Friday’s assault on the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA).
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
