A group of Durban shack dwellers say that local police attacked, abused, and intimidated residents on Friday night. It's the third alleged police-related attack in two months. But why would authorities target a group of shack dwellers? Read more and see their photos...

Protests over living conditions in South African shanty towns turned violent on Wednesday when discontented slum dwellers around the country clashed with police forces. Similar outbursts last year resulted in over 70 deaths when rioters also targeted foreigners from neighbouring countries; a cause for concern for the hundreds of thousands of World Cup fans planning to travel to the country in a year's time. Read more...

Rio de Janeiro authorities have begun building concrete walls around the city's shantytowns. Officially they're being erected to prevent environmental damage to the surrounding areas. But the residents of these favelas see it as a way of creating distance between themselves and the not-too-faraway, well-off neighbours. Read more...

Eleven year old Ágatha Marquez dos Santos is the most recent victim of a police crackdown in South America’s biggest shanty-town, Rocinha. Agatha was watching TV at her father’s house when a rifle bullet flew straight into her chest. Here’s the account from our Observer in Rocinha. Read more...