Several people injured in violent protests in Durban, S. Africa

Several people were injured during violent protests in South Africa's eastern city of Durban, authorities said on Monday.

Scenes at several areas in the city were chaotic as shots were fired, witnessed said. It remained unknown who fired the shots.

Dozens of vehicles have been burned down and public properties damaged, according to police.

Reports about the motives of protests were conflicting. Some protesters said they took to the streets to protest against poor service delivery.

But the municipality said in a statement that investigations revealed that the protest was of a political nature, and was not related to service delivery.

In the run-up to the local elections, scheduled for August 3, violence linked to political struggles has flared up in parts of the country.

Minister of Police Nkosinathi Nhleko has expressed his serious concern at the rising number of killings.

"We have noted with serious concern the incidents of killings particularly where political figures are victims or where the killings are being linked to the upcoming local government elections," he said.

To counter this, a multi-disciplinary task team has been set up to investigate the killings and to prevent the killings from happening, the minister said without divulging the number of people that have been killed. Endit