The leaders of Amcu should be arrested after deadly clashes at Lonmin's Marikana mine, the SA Communist Party in the North West said on Friday.

Provincial secretary Madoda Sambatha said a shootout between police and striking miners on Thursday was a "barbaric act" co-ordinated by the leaders of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).

He claimed Amcu leaders Joseph Mathunjwa and Steve Kholekilethe had been expelled from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) "because of anarchy".

Amcu has, meanwhile, called on President Jacob Zuma to order a probe into the shooting

Mathunjwa, who is its president, broke down in tears on Friday when he described the circumstances leading up to the shooting.

He said Amcu leaders went to the hilltop where protesters had gathered, without a police or a security escort, or any supervision.

"I pleaded with them: 'The writing is on the wall, they are going to kill you'," he said. They refused to come down. They wanted R12,500 [monthly pay]," he said.

"It is with great regret... and shock... that this resulted in a loss of lives," he said.

Police moved in on protesters encamped on the hill, near the mine, on Thursday afternoon, after days of negotiations.

National police commission Riah Phiyega said on Friday that 34 people were killed.

Another 10 people, including police officers and security guards, had already been killed in separate incident since protests at the mine began last Friday.

The protests were believed to be linked to rivalry between the NUM and Amcu over recognition agreements at the mine. Workers also wanted higher wages.

Sambatha said: "Mathunjwa could present an innocent face and try to smooth-talk himself out of the crisis, but we know him for who he is."

The SACP called for the establishment of a special presidential commission to investigate the "violent nature and anarchy" associated with Amcu "wherever it establishes itself".

"Workers must desist any temptation to mobilise them against NUM or

to mobilise them to attack each other," Sambatha said.

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