Tshwane Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa on Monday night expressed sadness at the violence that accompanied the eviction of illegal squatters in Hammanskraal‚ north of the city‚ in which two people were brutally killed. Ramokgopa said he had “a heavy heart” about the violence that erupted in Hammanskraal.“Violence has no place in our society‚ It is a sad day indeed that we are witnessing loss of lives by our own brothers. Families are being robbed of fathers‚ brothers‚ and sons because of extremists hell-bent on breaking the law and destroying everything in their paths‚” he said in a statement posted on Facebook.The two men killed were members of the Red Ants security and eviction services.Police Warrant Officer Lolo Mangena said: “I can confirm that two people have been killed. One was hit with a blunt object at the back of his head while the other was set alight.”CrimeStoppers International consultant Yusuf Abramjee ‏@Abramjee tweeted‚ “I have just seen a video of a man set on fire in #Hammanskraal - Scores of spectators and no helps as the man burns to death. Sad!!!!”Community protests over the evictions also resulted in five people being injured when Metro Police responded to petrol bombs and stones being thrown at the Red Ants‚ who were called in to demolish shacks at the illegal Suurman and Kanana townships.One of the residents in the area‚ who did not want to be identified‚ told TMG Digital that community members turned on the two men when they started demolishing their homes.“We were trying to get them not to damage our homes but they continued to damage everything and that’s when the community turned on them and hit them with objects and burnt one of them‚” she said.“My shack is also in the area. It’s not like we just came out of nowhere‚ we don’t have any other homes. This is where we live and now they just want to remove us like that. Where do they want us to go?” she questioned.Violence first broke out on Monday morning when protesters torched three buses and stoned cars in the area.Protesters are allegedly opposed to shack dwellers who have settled in the two areas illegally.Ramokgopa urged the Metro Police “to exercise the law enforcement responsibilities and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book”.“We regret the inconvenience‚ pain and the unfortunate loss of lives caused by today’s disruptions and illegal protest and commit to continue to improve our public order policing in cooperation with the South African Police Services‚ and the Fire department to ensure that in future the appropriate rapid response is activated to minimize damage to property‚ injury and further loss of life.”The City of Tshwane has a standing court order which allows it to respond immediately and remove people illegally invading land in the council.“We remain concerned by actions and utterances some political parties mobilizing the vulnerable groups to defy court orders resulting in resistance and violence‚ and want to make it clear that we do not accept illegal occupations of land and properties‚” Ramokgopa said.Despite its opposition to illegal invasions‚ the mayor noted that the city was working to create decent housing for the poor and attempted to ensure humane treatment when it needed to enforce evictions."We remain deeply concerned by the acts of violence‚ displacements‚ confrontations‚ loss of property and gross disregard as well as violation of human rights every time evictions take place. Our experience is that evictions leave behind a trail of pain‚ which could be avoided and minimized‚ as we treated even those of our ungovernable citizens with respect rather than a sense of punishment‚" he commented .As part of the overall commitment between government and the Red Ants‚ “we agree to ensure that all future evictions do not infringe on the human rights of residents - especially the vulnerable groups: the elderly‚ women‚ children and people with disability”."We need to reinforce and make into a habit‚ the recent agreement between the Department of Cooperative Governance and the Red Ants management to work together to be sensitive to interests of the vulnerable groups during evictions as well as to minimize unnecessary confrontations‚" said Ramokgopa.The City would attempt to make the situation much more humane by ensuring that eviction notices contained clearer instructions informing residents what to do‚ and how to comply‚ as well as offering advice on seeking alternative accommodation in time.He also noted the city had rolled out various programmes including Re Aga Tshwane aimed at promoting security of tenure...