TimesLIVE reports that three houses were torched, a police station was damaged and officers were attacked after violence erupted on Wednesday evening in Bloemhof, in the North West.  

Police spokesperson Captain Sam Tselanyane indicated that a group of community members gathered at the police station and demanded the release of six people who had been arrested for assault the previous evening.  “There was confrontation between them and the police.  They pelted the police station and our members with stones.  Our members eventually managed to (disperse) them,” Tselanyane said.  The protestors then headed to the local township, where they torched three houses occupied by police officers.  One house was burnt to ashes and the other two were badly damaged.  The protestors also pelted police cars patrolling the area.  On Thursday morning, they blocked several roads and prevented people from going to work.  In a volatile situation, schools in the town were closed.  The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) called for calm to be restored, saying:  “We appeal to community members not to take the law into their hands.  We condemn these unjust acts and want to call for calm and dialogue in the community of Bloemhof.

• Read the original of this report by Iavan Pijoos in full at TimesLIVE

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