In one of the deadliest protests since the end of the apartheid era, at least 36 striking South African miners were shot dead by police at a platinum mine, sending shock waves across the country.

The police in bulletproof vests, some on horseback, fired at a crowd of workers armed with spears, clubs and machetes, with some gunfire also heard from the workers' camp.
The miners at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana have been demanding a three-fold salary hike, refusing an order by their union to return to work so that employers could enter into negotiations.

Police said they fired after several unsuccessful attempts to disperse protesters with water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades. Senior police officials showed photographs to prove that the police acted in self-defence.
The incident was roundly condemned by all sectors of society, including all political parties and religious leaders.

President Jacob Zuma who cut short a trip to neighboring Mozambique for a summit of regional leaders said he had instructed law enforcement agencies to
do everything possible to bring the situation under controland to bring the perpetrators of the violence to book.