South Africans protest police brutality against poor under lockdown

A soldier and a member of the South African police service search a house as they enforce a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus in Eldorado Park, South Africa, March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

As the killing of George Floyd sparked protests worldwide, South Africans joined calls on Tuesday for action against police brutality following the deaths of at least 10 black people at the hands of law enforcement under a coronavirus lockdown.

Thousands have attended Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg to protest violence by security forces implementing the lockdown - and prior to the pandemic - directed mainly at poor, black communities.