Police diffuse violent clashes between EFF and Operation Dudula members outside Kalafong Hospital

After violent clashes broke out between members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Operation Dudulua outside Kalafong Hospital on Thursday in Pretoria, public order police have managed to diffuse tensions between the two groups.

Members of the anti-immigrant group and the red berets have been at loggerheads outside the facility since Wednesday, after Operation Dudula started blocking the entrance to the hospital, stopping documented and undocumented foreign nationals from accessing healthcare services based on nationality, the colour of their skin and the language they speak.

EFF and Operation Dudula clash

The latest clashes between the EFF and Operation Dudula follows a violent scuffle on Wednesday that erupted outside the hospital between them.

There have been running battles between the two groups, with police firing rubber bullets to disperse opposing members from assaulting each other.

Earlier, a small group of Operation Dudula members were chased away by the EFF from the hospital’s entrance. This then led to Operation Dudula calling for reinforcement from their members who were not within the vicinity of the hospital.

Operation Dudula believes that foreign nationals are draining South African taxpayers by accessing health services in the country. The EFF, on the other hand, says immigrants have rights like South Africans to health facilities as enshrined in the Constitution.

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Government has also condemned the actions of Operation Dudulua.

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla is currently addressing the media inside the facility after he held separate engagements with officials from Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital, including the EFF and Operation Dudulua.

Meanwhile, more public order police have been called in to prevent further violence outside the hospital.

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