South Africa police raid miners' hostels in Marikana areaBy BBC | Saturday, September 15   2012 at  12:00

South African police have raided miners' hostels in the area of the strike-hit Marikana platinum mine, west of the capital Pretoria.

About 500 officers took part in the early-morning raids, taking machetes and other weapons, police spokesman Thulani Ngubane told AFP news agency.

He told AFP the police had made 12 arrests.

The government had threatened to clamp down on unrest which had been spreading in gold and platinum mines.

On Friday, the cabinet announced it would not tolerate what it called illegal gatherings, and threatened to disarm strikers.

The mining unrest has been marked by violent clashes, including the shooting dead of 34 striking miners by police at Marikana in August.

Workers on Friday rejected an offer by the owners, Lonmin, to end the dispute.