Zulus fired assault rifles at Xhosas sleeping in a workers barracks early Monday, leaving 22 people dead and pushing the death toll to 364 in a week of tribal clashes, police said. Zulus and Xhosas, the country's two largest black tribes and longtime rivals, have been waging vicious battles since Aug. 12 in the townships surrounding Johannesburg. Police and eyewitnesses said Zulus armed with AK-47 rifles raided a Xhosa workers hostel early Monday in KwaThema township east of Johannesburg. At least 22 people were killed, many of them Xhosas shot in their beds, they said. Police in armored vehicles moved in after dawn to restore order. Enraged Xhosas set fire to a hostel used by Zulus before being driven off. Fighting also flared in nearby townships, resulting in several deaths. Looters continued to pillage hostels abandoned by Zulu migrant workers. People carted away refrigerators, stoves and anything else they could find. Johannesburg newspapers Monday reported five killings Sunday in the Soweto township by the ``necklace'' method, whereby youths put gasoline-soaked tires around the necks of victims and set them alight. Police on Monday raised the death toll for the fighting from the past week to 364 and said hundreds were injured. ``We just keep finding bodies. They're everywhere,'' said a police spokesman. The fighting appears to be mostly a tribal conflict with a long history, but it also has political overtones. Nelson Mandela and many other leaders of the African National Congress, the largest opposition movement, are Xhosas. The ANC's rival, Inkatha, is a Zulu-based organization headed by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Both the ANC and Inkatha oppose apartheid, the system of racial segregation that allows 5 million whites to maintain political and economic control over 30 million blacks. But the two groups differ over tactics and plans for a future South Africa. ANC leader Walter Sisulu ruled out peace talks between Mandela and Buthelezi, saying it would be a capitulation. ``That means Inkatha launches a war in order to bring us to our knees. For that type of thing we are not prepared,'' he said in a weekend television interview. Mandela's wife, Winnie, warned the ANC may be forced to resume its armed struggle to protect is supporters. The ANC agreed Aug. 6 to suspend it largely ineffective guerrilla campaign. Mrs. Mandela accused the government of ``working hand-in-hand'' with the relatively conservative Inkatha movement in the fighting against Xhosas, the independent South African Press Association reported. Also, the government has revoked immunity from prosecution for three ANC leaders, including the head of the group's military wing, Chris Hani. The three men, Hani, Ronnie Kasrils and Mac Maharaj, also are members of the South African Communist Party, a close ANC ally. The government gave no reason for the decision. But it was seen as a signal that authorities are upset with militant statements made recently by some ANC leaders. The trio are among more than 40 ANC leaders granted temporary immunity three months ago so they could participate in peace talks. All but Hani, Kasrils and Maharaj have had their immunity extended until the end of the year.
