At least two students have been injured in South Africa’s main city of Johannesburg after police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to break up protests over a planned increase in tuition fees, university and student representatives have said.
Heavy shots rang out as police dispersed the University of Witwatersrand students from the streets, and traffic in parts of the city centre was disrupted as students fled, many running back to the campus as a police helicopter hovered above, Reuters news agency reports.
The police denied firing rubber bullets and said the students were injured when they fell while running away, Reuters reports.
Police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini is quoted as saying that an officer was wounded in the neck by a stone thrown by students.
He added:
The students threw stones at the police and the police fired stun grenades.”
The students are demanding free education, rejecting government plans to increase fees by up to eight percent.