WATCH | Rubber bullets, rocks fly as police tear down structures in Hout Bay | News24

• An operation by police and the City of Cape Town saw “illegal” structures where some people were living torn down in Hangberg, Hout Bay.
• Residents and police were in a tense stand-off on a rainy Thursday.
• Rocks and rubber bullets flew earlier in the day.

Running battles between police and residents of Hangberg, Hout Bay, broke out on a rainy and stormy Thursday in Cape Town, with rubber bullets and rocks flying as police tore down structures.

The confrontation took place in Hangberg, on the back slopes of the Sentinel peak, above Hout Bay Harbour, while an intense cold front gripped the city.

By noon on Thursday, the matter had calmed to a tense stand-off when News24 arrived at the scene.

Asked for comment on what had transpired, police officials said it was an operation with the City of Cape Town.

Councillor Rob Quintas said: “The South African Police Service’s Public Order Police Unit is the commanding agency for this operation. No one is being evicted.

“Only illegal unoccupied and incomplete structures are being demolished.

“This long-planned operation is at the request of law-abiding members of the Hangberg community.”

On the scene, a burning barricade smoldered in the rain, and rocks lay strewn across the roads.

Further comment has been sought from the City of Cape Town and the police.

This is a developing story.