THE death toll in inter ethnic violence in South African mines reached 18 yesterday after Sotho miners launched a counter attack on Pondo miners in and around the mining town of Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg.
Violence started before dawn on Sunday when, according to Supt Pietr du Plessis of the South African police service, Pondo miners attacked Sotho miners, killing at least 10 men.
The immediate cause of the attack was unclear but it had all the hallmarks of a well planned operation.
Home made bombs had been packed into the walls and roof of a compound occupied by Sotho miners from the neighbouring Kingdom of Lesotho.
Seven men were killed in the initial explosions. Another three were ambushed and cut down by assailants when they tried to flee.
Yesterday, enraged Sotho miners embarked on a retaliatory attack, setting fire to a hostel and assaulting anyone who crossed their path.
Police found six bodies, two near a hostel and six along the route taken by the avenging Sothos.
The latest burst of violence occurred as a commission of inquiry, appointed by President Nelson Mandela, began to hear evidence on recent violence on another three mines, west of Johannesburg.
In that violence, spread over a number of weeks, and characterised by several episodes of bloodletting, the antagonists were members of the multi tribal National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the predominantly Zulu United Workers' Union of South Africa (UWUSA).
At least 30 workers were killed in recurring violence in these mines.
There are political undertones to it the NUM is aligned to the African National Congress while UWUSA inclines towards the Inkatha Freedom Party.
Yesterday's and Sunday's violence occurred near, and appeared to involve workers from, another two mines owned by different companies.
The NUM versus UWUSA element did not appear to be a factor. It seemed to have more in common with a serious outburst of violence at another mine in 1992, when Sotho speaking workers clashed with Xhosa speaking miners from the Eastern Cape, the home area of Pondos.
Observers noted yesterday that rivalry between black South Africans and immigrants from neighbouring countries has increased sharply in recent years, with competition for employment serving as a major causal factor.
Figures obtained by The Irish Times yesterday show that since 1987, the number of miners employed on South African mines has fallen by nearly 210,000 from a high point of about 520,000.