Addis Ababa, July 14, 2021 (Walta) – The death toll in South Africa has risen to 72 as violence continues across the country following the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma.
Crowds looting and setting alight shopping centers clashed with police in several cities on Tuesday.
The BBC filmed a baby being thrown from a building in Durban that was on fire after ground-floor shops were looted.
A day earlier, 10 people were killed in a stampede during looting at a shopping center in Soweto.
The military has been deployed to help police overstretched since the unrest began last week.
South African police said in a statement they had identified 12 people suspected of provoking the riots, and that a total of 1,234 people had been arrested.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called it some of the worst violence witnessed in South Africa since the 1990s, before the end of apartheid, with fires started, highways blocked and businesses and warehouses looted in major cities and small towns in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
Ministers have warned that if looting continues, there is a risk area could run out of basic food supplies soon – but have ruled out declaring a state of emergency.
Those stealing from shops on the ground floor of Smith Street had started the fire which spread, affecting those living upstairs.
The BBC’s Nomsa Maseko says that after catching the baby, the passers-by and neighbors rushed to get ladders to help other residents, including children, escape.
The mother was reunited with her baby but was too emotional to talk. The rescue services arrived after about 20 minutes to help douse the fires.