Since the protest started on Monday, the Springs Crime Combating Unit and other policemen were on routine patrols to combat illegal mining in the area.
According to Amanda Greybe, Springs police spokesman, the residents closed off all the entrances to the informal settlement with stones and tree branches.
Consequently, the police and their vehicles, who were on patrol inside the informal settlement, were trapped inside the informal settlement and couldn’t escape.
Greybe says the the residents shouted at the policemen that they are going to use tyres to burn them.
The community threw stones and petrol bombs at the police and their vehicles, damaging several vehicles.
One of the petrol bombs was thrown into a Nyala damaging government property.
“We had to be withdraw our patrols from the area due to the dangerous and unstable situation,” says Greybe.
The protest started on Monday when the residents were throwing stones at vehicles, and damaged some of the robots in Welgedacht Road.
Greybe says, although no arrests have been made, the police will still monitor the situation.
“We urge the community to be alert and to rather make use of alternative routes, for their own safety,” she says.
