Brits under siege again after taxi protests block roads in North West
Protesters invaded Brits early on Thursday, blockading roads and preventing residents and motorists from entering or exiting the town.
The Public Order Police and Police Airwing are on the scene and are trying to contain the situation after protest action broke out in Brits once again on Thursday, Kormorant reports.
This follows a siege two weeks ago when taxi drivers held Brits hostage for most of the day in protest against the arrest of seven of taxi operators for damaging Nigerian shops and attacking Nigerian immigrants because of their alleged drug dealing.
The taxi drivers are appearing in the Brits Magistrates’ court again on Thursday and currently, most of the access roads to Brits have been closed off.
The R511 at the Alpha crossing was closed by traffic police after taxis blockaded the intersection at the Brits Mall. Other roads that are currently closed are the silos road, Wagpos road and possibly the Sonop road.
Oukasie was closed off early this morning, preventing residents to go to work.
According to information from the scene, shops had been forced to close in Tom Street after armed protestors invaded the area. Shops in other areas of Brits have followed suit.
The media has also received reports from the Brits industrial area about employees being beaten up in order to force factories to close.
People are warned to avoid Brits until further notice.
Watch: Shops in Brits closing their doors
#sapsNW #ProtestAction Brits CBD, related to yesterday's protest. 3 suspects were charged with assault yesterday and will be appearing in Court today. About 500 people are protesting at the Brits Court entrance. #SAPS POP Unit members deployed. #PoliceVisibility ME
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) April 18, 2019
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