Police Disperse March By Marikana Miners

Police in South Africa have dispersed a march by up to a thousand striking Marikana miners in Rustenburg.

Workers gathered to march on a police station close to the mine, which is at the centre of a mining pay dispute in the country.

It followed a crackdown by authorities in the area on Saturday when police used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to break up a protest by miners in nearby Marikana and raided hostels and homes to seize weapons.

Sunday's march against the use of force was dispersed peacefully after a row of armoured police trucks stopped the demonstration in its tracks.

Speaking from Rustenburg, Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "It was very tense, but good sense did prevail.

"The leaders came forward. They had a chat with the police. The police told them that they needed permission for the protest and that they had 10 minutes to disperse or they would be dispersed, and within a few minutes the situation had been diffused."

Gaddhafi Mdoda, a workers' committee member at Anglo American Platinum, said the march had been "peaceful".

Miners at the site - which is owned by Lonmin PLC, the world's third biggest platinum producer - walked out on August 10 calling for a wage increase from 4,000 rand a month (£300) to 12,500 rand (£937).

Their protest turned violent on August 16 when 34 miners were gunned down during a confrontation with police. Another 78 people were injured in the violence.

Lonmin says the workers already earn around 10,000 rand (£749) when bonuses and other compensation payments are included.

The government on Friday announced it would no longer tolerate the growing unrest and said it would act against illegal gatherings, weapons, incitement and threats of violence.