39 Die in S. Africa Township Massacre

BOIPATONG, South Africa — Attackers armed with machetes and guns massacred 39 people in this black township, and the African National Congress on Thursday blamed the government.

The ANC said that Wednesday night’s slaughter threatens political reform talks.

A mob rampaged through homes and squatter shacks late Wednesday. Bodies strewn across the dirt roads included those of a pregnant woman and a child less than a year old. A man and a woman, both hacked to death, remained wrapped in a blanket in a small shed where they tried to hide.

ANC spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa charged that police brought the killers in, then drove away as the attackers kicked in doors, smashed windows and went on a four-hour crime spree.

Police Capt. Eugene Opperman denied the accusation and said the suspects were supporters of the Inkatha Freedom Party, the ANC’s main black rival.

Boipatong residents said the attackers spoke Zulu and came from an Inkatha Freedom Party workers’ hostel in the area.

Inkatha spokesman Themba Khoza denied any blame.

The ANC has accused government security forces of trying to undermine it by instigating bloodshed and siding with the Zulu-dominated Inkatha. The government has accused the ANC of aggravating violence by launching strikes and protests this week to force political change.