WATCH | Rioting Mthatha students torch armoured car, chase police off campus
Violence broke out in Mthatha when protesting students charged police and torched a Nyala armoured personnel carrier at the entrance of Walter Sisulu University's Nelson Mandela Drive campus on Monday.
This came after protesting students blockaded the N2 near the campus, effectively stopping traffic to and from the town.
In one video, overwhelmed police officers are seen retreating while students, shielding themselves with mattresses, wooden planks and roof sheeting, charge at them while hurling rocks. The students chased the police off the campus and across the road.
Walter Sisulu University student in Mthatha charge retreating police while pelting them with rocks. pic.twitter.com/YJ65TG1U6L
— Dispatch AFRICA (@africa_dispatch) April 19, 2021
In another video, the Nyala is seen engulfed in flames.
A police Nyala in flames during a skirmish between police and Mthatha university students. pic.twitter.com/zpq1EuVKd8
— Dispatch AFRICA (@africa_dispatch) April 19, 2021
Another video shows students dancing and singing alongside the burning vehicle while wearing pieces of riot gear left behind by the police. A burnt police rifle lies abandoned on the floor of the Nyala.
WSU Mthatha students dance next to a burning police armoured personnel carrier while wearing abandoned police riot gear. pic.twitter.com/GmCk6PyBCt
— Dispatch AFRICA (@africa_dispatch) April 19, 2021
An abandoned police firearm lies in the burnt-out wreckage of a Nyala armoured personnel carrier after a skirmish between WSU students and police. Video: LULAMILE FENI pic.twitter.com/GMt8DjsLlV
— Dispatch AFRICA (@africa_dispatch) April 19, 2021
The road was scattered with debris and rocks as the police regrouped. Other armoured vehicles were seen patrolling the area.
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