The man, whose name cannot be published by court order, said the attack on Boipatong was planned in revenge for several killings of hostel dwellers.

The hostel dwellers are terrified of being evicted with no place to go.

"And there is a competition between hostel dwellers and squatters for resources."

The police sent more than 100 officers to Kwamadala today to begin interviewing hostel dwellers.

Earlier this month, some hostel dwellers raided their neighbors, sending 1,200 families fleeing to the sanctuary of nearby churches.

The apartheid engineers often aggravated these tensions by grouping hostel dwellers along tribal lines.

"It will never be," declared Robert Ndlela, a hostel dweller since 1976.

Other hostel dwellers were believed to have been behind a retaliatory rampage that night that left up to six more local residents dead.

"I want to see the hostel dwellers move from this place," said a 20-year-old high school student named Thomas.

The first is to provide now a mental health service specifically for hostel dwellers or those living on the streets.