Durban woman Sarah Downs equated the scenes in the protest-rife town of Manguzi, northern KwaZulu-Natal, to war-torn Beirut as they desperately tried to leave and get medical supplies for her father, who was running low on insulin.

What was supposed to be a relaxing one-night snorkelling trip for her and her family turned into a stressful situation when they realised her father, a diabetic who had previously had a stroke, was running low on insulin. They could not go into the town to refill it or get food because looting and protest action had brought it to a standstill.

According to residents, the protesters are mainly angry about a lack of access to water and over a carjacking syndicate that takes stolen cars across the border...