Police are currently in a stand-off with school pupils at the Bridge City Mall, KwaMashu in Kwazulu-Natal, blocking them from entering the mall area. It comes after thousands of pupils took to the streets of KwaMashu on Mondy in protest of abuse of women, News 24 reported.
Police are maintaining a strong presence in the area after pupils began marching and shops were torched on Monday night.
"We just want our mothers and sisters to feel safe. We will not allow this to continue", one pupil from the JG Zuma School told News24.
The march also comes after xenophobic violence broke out in KwaMashu on Monday night.
According to according to eNCA, police have blamed fake news reports for the outbreak of violence in the area.
Foreign-owned shops were reportedly looted on Monday night amid what police say are false reports that children were being kidnapped for the sale of their body parts. Roads were reportedly blocked and cars were stoned, as foreign-owned shops were torched.
According to Times Live, the Public Order Policing Unit has been deployed to the area, and sources say police came under attack.
Major Thulane Zwane, a police spokesperson, told Times Live that police were trying to contain the situation but that it remained tense. Zwane was not immediately able to confirm whether officers had been injured, or whether the shops that had been looted were foreign-owned.
Zwane told the SABC: "We condemn these violent protests that are taking place in KwaMashu and surrounding areas. We heard that there were people who were blocking the roads with burning tyres and stones. We also heard that they were complaining of a certain vehicle of people who are kidnapping other people in this area especially the children."