Pregnant woman among 11 killed as assailants open fire in South African township

South Africa is awash with legal and illegal firearms, and shootings are common, often fuelled by gang rivalry and competition between informal businesses.

Gunmen stormed a homestead in a township in South Africa's Durban, killing 11 people, the head of the provincial government said on Wednesday.

Two people survived the attack. However, the motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. (Representative Image/AFP)

South Africa is awash with legal and illegal firearms, and shootings are common, often fuelled by gang rivalry and competition between informal businesses.

"The victims, including a pregnant woman, were gathered at a house shortly before 11:00 pm (2100 GMT Tuesday) when armed assailants reportedly entered the premises and opened fire," Thamsanqa Ntuli, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, of which Durban is the main city, told AFP.

Two people survived the attack, he added.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.

"The incident has left the community in profound shock and grief," Ntuli said.

Local television station eNCA reported that the attackers forced everyone into a room before shooting them and also set fire to a car belonging to one of the victims.

"It's shocking and sad. These are guys I grew up with. I can't believe it. It's like a movie," the broadcaster cited a local resident as saying.

"I've been staying here all my life, and I've never seen anything like this," he added.

South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with about 60 people killed each day in a country of around 62 million.

In March, soldiers were deployed to violence hotspots across the country to support police efforts to tackle rampant crime, which President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as one of the biggest threats facing South Africa.