South African police fired stun grenades to disperse striking miners, acting hours after president Jacob Zuma’s government vowed to halt illegal protests and disarm demonstrators.

South African police fired stun grenades to disperse striking miners, acting hours after president Jacob Zuma’s government vowed to halt illegal protests and disarm demonstrators.

South Africa’s top public prosecutor said controversial murder charges against 270 miners for the killing of fellow workers shot dead by police, will be provisionally dropped.

South Africa’s police directorate of complaints has opened 34 murder dockets in the police killings of 34 striking mine workers and also is investigating complaints that more than 150 arrested miners have been beaten in police custody, the directorate spokesman said today.