Tempers flared outside a South African court today ahead of the appearance of two black farm workers accused of killing white supremacist leader Eugene Terre'blanche.
Police erected a barbed wire barricade to separate a crowd of 200 supporters of Mr Terre'blanche's Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) from a group of black workers outside the court in Ventersdorp, 100km west of Johannesburg.
AWB loyalists had been singing South Africa's apartheid-era national anthem, prompting the opposing side to respond with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica, (God Bless Africa) the anthem introduced after the country's first multi-racial elections in 1994.
Today's court hearing in the town of Ventersdorp will not be public because the younger suspect is a minor. Police have not identified either of the suspects by name.
South African leaders, including President Jacob Zuma, have urged calm since Saturday's killing, and police reacted quickly to separate the two groups when a white woman threw a bottle of water, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.
The "Rainbow Nation", saddled with a reputation for crime and violence, will be in the international spotlight in a little over two months when it hosts the soccer World Cup.
Police believe Mr Terre'blanche, who had pushed to preserve white minority rule in the 1990s, was killed over a pay dispute.
Agencies