WATCH: Five more trucks set alight as ‘war’ against drivers continues

Following the torching of at least 20 trucks on Thursday night, five more trucks have been set alight. 

Reports indicate the trucks were set alight on the R59, between Gauteng and the Free State, and on the N1, late on Saturday night. 

#TruckStrike Several trucks alight R59 between Gauteng and Freestate. Please truckers be careful.. @BOSBEER2006 @1SecondLater @MARIUSBROODRYK @SALTruckers @News24 @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/MbluWOETvx

— BOSBEER.COM (@BOSBEER2006) November 21, 2020

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele, the trucks were forced to stop after a petrol bomb was thrown at one.

“It was also indicated that shots were fired [at] other trucks, forcing them to stop,” he added.

“The drivers fled into the nearby field and four other trucks were then set alight.”

The motive for the attack is under investigation and no arrests have been made.

The truck drivers were treated for shock at Parys District Hospital.

Fleetwatch magazine on Friday said the attacks were well coordinated, with all starting around the same time, just after 10pm on Thursday. 

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Thursday’s attack saw trucks being forced to slow down by vehicles, after which they were petrol bombed. Among them was a Toyota Quantum. 

One suspect had been taken in for questioning following Thursday’s attack.

Fleetwatch said the modus operandi was the same as Thursday’s attack. A vehicle was said to drive past trucks while the occupants threw petrol bombs at them. 

It is also reported that two drivers were shot in Saturday night’s attack. 

The Department of Transport has not yet released any information on or pending investigations into the burning of trucks, despite 25 trucks being burnt in total in the past three days.

The continued attacks against truck drivers across the outcry was condemned by Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly. 

Kelly postulated in a statement whether there was “a wider agenda” of common criminality “with the aim to destabilise the country”, and called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene urgently. 

Attempts to reach the Department of Transport and police have so far been unsuccessful.

Updates to follow as more information is received.

Additional reporting by News24 Wire. Compiled by Nica Richards.

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