JOHANNESBURG: Gunmen killed at least 27 people in two mass shootings in South Africa's two main cities, Johannesburg and Cape Town, police said on Sunday, in the latest criminal violence to hit the country.
Eight gunmen armed with assault rifles and pistols stormed a bar southwest of Johannesburg at around 19:30 GMT on Saturday, killing 17 people and wounding 15 others.
The shooting took place in Wedela, a semi-rural township of brick houses and small businesses, surrounded by wide expanses of land used for mining. The suspects torched two vehicles before fleeing.
In a separate shooting at a barbecue venue in a township outside Cape Town early on Sunday, gunmen killed 10 people and wounded 11 more.
No suspect has been arrested in either case, police said.
The country of about 62 million people records roughly 60 murders a day, among the highest rates globally.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said security forces "are going to continue pulling out all stops" to put an end to criminality.
"The clear instruction to our security forces is that we must bring the levels of criminality and violence down," he said. — AFP
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