South Africa: 'They Started the War,' Says Police Chief Masemola After 18 Gang Suspects Killed in 90-Minute Makhado Gun Battle

2 September 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Lucas Ledwaba

A lunch-time shootout ensued between suspected robbers and police in a double-storey house in Makhado, Limpopo, on Friday, resulting in the deaths of 18 criminal suspects and the injury of an officer.

A 90-minute gun battle between police and a suspected gang of heavily armed robbers left 18 gang members dead and one police officer injured in a residential area in Makhado in Limpopo.

Speaking from the scene of a bloody gun battle in Alti Villas in Limpopo, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola told media that police had been tracking down the gang in a months-long joint operation by specialist units.

Masemola said police pounced on the gang who were hiding in a house in the wealthy Makhado suburb at about 1pm on Friday afternoon.

Masemola said the gang opened fire on police with high-calibre rifles.

Police then returned fire, which resulted in a shootout that lasted 90 minutes.

WATCH: Police in Limpopo shot and killed 18 suspects in a cash-in-transit fouled robbery on Friday in Makhado, Limpopo.https://t.co/EhNbJ2BtJC #CashInTransit pic.twitter.com/HIZ1DV8WUo-- Scrolla Africa (@ScrollaAfrica) September 1, 2023

The suspected gang was hiding in a double-storey house in a quiet suburban street when police pounced.

"They started the war," said Masemola, speaking about 100m from the house where the suspected gang members were shot dead.

Masemola said a police officer was shot in the leg in the ensuing shootout....

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