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Cape Town - Several roads in and around Philippi, Cape Town, have been closed following clashes between police and protesters, Cape Town traffic spokesperson Richard Coleman said on Friday.
Traffic officers were posted along the nearby N2 highway after protesters hurled stones at motorists earlier in the morning.
"We closed the N2 incoming at the R300 and also the R300 incoming onto the N2 due to stone throwing. That was closed for about half an hour," Coleman said.
The highway had since been reopened to traffic.
Rubber bullets
Officers had erected barriers at several intersections in Philippi where shack-dwellers who illegally occupied privately owned land next to the Marikana informal settlement were resisting evictions by the city's land invasion unit.
Barriers had been put up at the corners of Stock Road and Lanzarac Street, and Stock and Protea roads.
Government, Mbeki, and Disa roads had also been closed off to traffic.
Members of the SA Police Service, the metro police, and other city law enforcement agencies were maintaining a strong presence after a week of clashes with angry residents.
Eyewitness News reported that rubber bullets were fired after residents threw stones at officials and police demolishing shacks.
This could not be immediately confirmed by the SAPS.
