At LEAST 36 illegal miners believed to be Lesotho nationals were arrested in Stilfontein, North West province in South Africa over the weekend after a deadly tiff erupted between two factions of unlicensed miners commonly known as Zama zamas.

Media reports show that police and the District Illicit Mining Task Team arrived at the scene of the incident near one of the abandoned shafts to find more than 100 people fighting.
''The warring rivals are believed to be Lesotho nationals fighting to assert dominance over each other for illegal mining turf.
''One suspect was shot and wounded in the upper body after he was reportedly instructed to drop his firearm,'' reports also show.

Police confiscated three loaded AK 47 assault rifles, a .303 rifle, a pistol, magazines and ammunition.
When approached for comment, the Ministry of Employment and Labour through the information office said it was not aware of the incident and promised to make further investigations into the matter.