Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A South African court has ordered that a police blockade of a disused goldmine, in which hundreds of people are located illegally, be lifted. Emergency services have been at the site, in Stilfontein, around 90 miles south-west of Johannesburg, for several days. Police have blocked food and water entering the mine to, as one government minister put it, ‘smoke them out.’ The miners — who have been underground for a month — have so far refused to exit the mine over fears of being arrested. Among them are undocumented migrants who also fear deportation. Police welcomed the order but said it would not stop them arresting miners who left the mine. On Saturday, a court in Pretoria ordered that the mine ‘may not be blocked by any person or institution whether government or private.'” (11/16/24)