Manenberg residents took to the streets on Sunday and hosted prayer services as they begged skollies to stop the bloodshed.
After nearly two weeks of shootings and retaliation attacks, bang residents came out en masse to voice their concerns in a bid to bring peace to their Cape Flats community.
This follows a bloody fallout between members of the Clever Kids, Fancy Boys and Dixie Boys gangs, who have taken up arms against the Hard Livings gang.
Vanessa Adriaanse of the Community Police Forum says they were shocked to see the number of children come out and ask gangs to let them play in the street.
“The moulanas, imams and pastors all hosted a service on a different street across the hotspots where the gang fights are happening,” Adriaanse says.
“Here they prayed for peace and pleaded with the gangs to put down their guns.
“We saw so many children come out.
“They begged the gangs to stop the war so they could play in the street.
“The children are like prisoners, they cannot even enjoy their break because they live in fear of the gunfire,” Vanessa adds.
Meanwhile, Manenberg SAPS station commander Sanele Zama says police made several arrests over the weekend.
“Several operations were put in place to combat the gang violence, yielding several operational successes, but the violence continued unabated,” Zama adds.
“Four males, aged 22 to 32, were arrested for the possession of firearms and ammunition.
“This gang war has left seven dead.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za