At least 72 people have died in the violent rioting, looting and intimidation unleashed in South Africa by the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma and that has intensified in recent hoursthe South African Police Force reported.
"The total number of people arrested is now 1,232, and the number of deaths 72 people," the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Command (NATJOINTS), quoted by local media, announced in a statement.
According to the South African police, there are now 45 fatalities in Gauteng, the engine of the country's economy, and another 27 deaths counted in KwaZulu-Natal as a result of the violent rioting, looting, and intimidation that has buffeted parts of the country.
The statement also said that security forces have so far made 683 arrests in Gauteng, while in KwaZulu-Natal, 549 people have been arrested.
The riots spread Tuesday night to the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces, which borders Mozambique and Essuatíni (formerly Swaziland), South African news portal News24 reported.
A police station in Matsulu, Mpumalanga province, where a person was being held in custody, was looted and later destroyed, the portal reported, adding that authorities also recorded two incidents in Galeshewe, in the Northern Cape, where a person was detained.
Due to the actions of armed violence, looting, intimidation and blocking of supply routes from the strategic eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, on the coast of the country, the company South African Shell and BP Oil Refineries (SAPREF) announced this Tuesday the closure of the refinery in the port city of Durban due to the current insecurity situation in the country.
"Due to civil unrest in the country and the disruption of supply routes in and out of KwaZulu-Natal, suppliers of materials critical to SAPREF's operations have reported the suspension of deliveries to the refinery for the safety of its employees and damage to its fleet of transport vehicles on public roads," the company explained.
"Without said materials and without clarity on how long the riots and the normal resumption of supply will last, SAPREF is unable to maintain refinery operations. Consequently, it has been forced to make the difficult decision to shut down the refinery," he said.
In Johannesburg, the demand for fuel led to long lines at gas stations early this evening, Lusa found in the suburb of Bryanston, in the north of the country's economic capital.
Local residents also lined up at SPAR, one of the four department stores serving this residential area, where many shelves were empty by the end of the day.
At least 200 shopping centers have been ransacked since Thursday in South Africa, local media reported, following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma last Wednesday night for flouting an order of the Constitutional Court, the country's highest judicial body.