South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that hundreds of illegal miners in an abandoned gold mine shaft must leave and defended police for blocking their food and water supplies in a bid to force them out.
Police and other security personnel have been stationed for weeks outside the mine shaft in Stilfontein, about 150 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, intermittently blocking locals from sending down essentials to get the illegal miners out.
"So far, more than 1,000 miners have surfaced and been arrested," Ramaphosa said in a statement, calling the site in Stilfontein "a crime scene."
"Those in good health are detained and will be processed according to the law. Those who require medical care will be taken to hospital under police guard," he said.
Reducing 'risk of harm'
The police operation has caused uproar, with some fearing that the miners could be starving or even dying underground, after one decomposed body was brought out of the shaft last week.
A court ordered police on Saturday to end all restrictions around the shaft, while the South African Human Rights Commission said it was investigating reports of deaths.
Recognising the "great deal of public debate about the rights of illegal miners", Ramaphosa said law enforcement "will do all they can to reduce the risk of harm to the miners."
Since Friday, nine people have resurfaced, police said, including one man who told AFP he had spent two months underground and came out due to the grim conditions.
'Nothing left to eat'
"There's nothing left for someone to eat, to drink or anything that can make a human being survive," he said, blaming the police operation.
Police said on Monday that porridge, water and energy drinks were being sent down the shaft to give the miners enough strength to resurface.
Speaking to reporters, they also commented on a handwritten note sent to the surface requesting anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs used to treat HIV infection.
"If ARVs is one of the requests... we have indicated that it will be done in a very coordinated manner," a spokesperson said.
'Zama zamas'
It is unclear how many miners are underground.
A man from the local community said he was told there were around 4,000, though police said the figure was probably in the hundreds.
The president said the clandestine miners – known as zama zamas, or "those who try" in the Zulu language – "pose a risk" to South Africa's "economy, communities and personal safety."
"Illicit mining activity costs our economy billions of rands in lost export income, royalties and taxes," said Ramaphosa, 72.
Take responsibility
As the police vowed to track down the "kingpins" behind illegal mining, the president called on the mining industry to take "responsibility for rehabilitating or closing mines that are no longer operational."
Ramaphosa said the situation at the Stilfontein shaft was "precarious, uncerta in and potentially volatile".
"Some illegal miners have been implicated in serious and violent crimes, including murder and gang rape. Many are in the country illegally," he said.
Provincial official Wessels Morweng said the operation was now about "rescuing criminals. We are rescuing serious, hardcore criminals."
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