Police in KwaZulu-Natal have steadied themselves to bear arms on the front line of a war between gangsters and drug dealers.

Reports of drug-related murders, drive-by shootings and assassination attempts have plagued Wentworth, Chatsworth, Sydenham and Phoenix.

Community leaders say at least seven lives have been lost in gang- and drug-related fights in the past two months, although the police have not been able to confirm this...