Thousands of striking South African miners and their relatives in a march at the Marikana mine (Photo: Reuters)
South African police fired tear gas on Thursday to clear a group of striking coal mine workers a day after security guards killed two strikers that had tried to break into a mine armoury, police said.
"There were about 200 workers who were blocking the road from Dundee to Dannhauser (mines), and when police got there they became violent and police had to use tear smoke to disperse them," police spokesman in the southeastern Kwazulu Natal province Jay Naicker told AFP.
No injuries occured during the clashes at the coal mines owned by Canadian giant Forbes Coal, he said.
Thursday's clashes are just the latest to hit the mining industry where work stoppages over pay have in recent months turned violent across the country and claiming at least 50 lives.
The rolling actions started with a strike at platinum giant Lonmin's Marikana mine, which had a domino effect engulfing much of South Africa's key mining industry.
The strikes have hit South Africa's economy and the latest figures have shown that the trade deficit in the continent's wealthiest economy widened sharply in September on a big fall of the export of metals and other mining products.
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