South African police fire tear gas at protesting students

Image copyright AFP

Image caption Masked students entered the university on Monday in an effort to disrupt classes

South African police have fired tear gas at students at Wits University in Johannesburg after they forced their way into lecture halls.

The university reopened on Monday after being closed last month because of protests against a planned increase in tuition fees.

Wits had warned the entire academic year could be cancelled if classes did not resume.

Protesters have been demanding free education.

• Africa Live: BBC news updates


• Why are South African students protesting?

The BBC"s Justine Lang reports from the scene that the Fees Must Fall protests took a sudden ugly turn on Monday morning.

Image caption The protesting students are demanding free education

Protesting students started throwing stones at the private security guards protecting the Great Hall in the centre of the campus.

Police retaliated with stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas. Journalists and students have been hurt, our correspondent adds.

This is the fourth week of protests.

Our correspondent adds that a hardcore of 600 out of the 37,000 students are "determined not to budge".

These are the biggest student protests to hit the country since apartheid ended in 1994.

Original Article

South African police fire tear gas at protesting students
https://latiendadejm.com/blog/south-african-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesting-students/

| | La tienda de JM