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CAPE TOWN. — South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Saturday called for an urgent probe into the killing of 11 people in Cape Town. This came after 11 people were shot dead in the informal settlement of Marikana on Friday night. The ANC “condemns in the harshest possible terms” the mass murders, ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said.

The 11 people were killed in several shooting incidents in Marikana which is notorious for crime linked to rivalry among different gangs. In the first incident, unknown suspects fired shots inside a shebeen, fatally wounding four people, police’s Captain FC van Wyk said. In the second scene, three more were shot dead in a shack and one outside the dwelling, said Van Wyk. Not far from the second scene, two more bodies were found lying between the shacks, he said.

Two other people who sustained injuries had to be taken to hospital, said Van Wyk. But one of the injured died later in hospital, bringing the death toll to 11, police said. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shootings.

“While the details around these deaths are still not quite clear, regardless of the circumstances these mass murders — related or not — are criminal acts which must be punished using the full might of our law,” Kodwa said. It is suspected that rivalry among different gangs has led to the shootings. Some impoverished settlements in Cape Town, including Marikana, have been plagued by gang-related violence. Also in Marikana, the charred bodies of three men were discovered earlier this month. This incident was also believed to be linked to gang-related violence.

Elsewhere, gang violence also escalated. On Tuesday night, seven people were shot dead in the Nyanga area, Cape Town. These incidents highlight the seriousness of gang fighting in impoverished areas in the city, police said. Residents in the affected areas have appealed to Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to intervene.

“The ANC calls on the affected communities and anyone else to come forward with any information they may have to assist police in apprehending the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, Criminals live amongst our communities, they are harboured by us and until society stands as one against this scourge it will not be defeated,” Kodwa said. Some areas in Cape Town have been ravaged by gangs for long. Every year, dozens of people are killed in gang violence. In November 2011, South African authorities sent in army troops to quell gangs following rising gang-related violence. Authorities have mediated a series of peace agreements between gangs, but the agreements can not last long. — Xinhua.