South African safety official vows action on bus attacks

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) -- The new safety and security minister in South Africa's Western Cape on Friday promised action to end attacks on commuter buses that have killed seven people and injured more than 60 since April.

"We have an extremely serious situation here and we have to deal with it," the minister, Hennie Bester, told reporters after another attack on a packed bus before dawn on Friday. No one was hurt.

It was the third attack on a bus in under a week as part of a war between the state-subsidized Golden Arrow Bus Service and the fleets of taxis that ferry thousands of people each day to and from the crime-ridden Cape Flats area outside Cape Town.

The national government, which has resisted mounting pressure to intervene, on Thursday agreed to step in.

"It is quite clear that the efforts they (the provincial authorities) are making are not yielding results and we will have to intervene," national transport minister Dullah Omar told a transport conference. "We can't sit back and allow violence to continue."

The taxi drivers have been campaigning to force Golden Arrow to raise fares and close down the service to the populous black township of Khayelitsha at weekends.

Golden Arrow, four of whose drivers have been shot dead and whose employees now go to work in flak jackets, has refused to bow to the intimidation and called on local and national government to intervene.

Armed police and soldiers travel on many of the buses to deter attacks, but without much success.

Three of Golden Arrow's passengers have been killed and scores wounded. One taxi driver has also been killed.

There has been speculation that gunmen from outside the province have been brought in. There have only been two arrests to date, prompting complaints of police incompetence.

Laurie Nathan of the Center for Conflict Resolution has been called in to mediate in peace talks, but with little success.

Golden Arrow withdrew from the talks this week as a result of the continued attacks.

"We will continue to liaise with all parties to resolve the conflict," Nathan said after a meeting on Friday with religious leaders who announced that they would hold a peace march through Khayelitsha next week.

Bester, who took over the provincial safety and security post on Friday after the previous minister resigned, said he would review the negotiating process.

"It is very difficult to negotiate when some of the people at the table might be involved in the violence," he said.

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