Mother of gang-rape victim says her daughter can now 'find peace' after South African cops shot dead nine men who made her watch her girl's sex attack - and locals say they can now sleep at night

The weeping mother of a young girl brutally gang-raped by armed thugs said after nine of them were shot dead by South African police: 'My daughter will now get peace from this'.

The 52-year-old mum added: 'I will be able to sleep at last and I know my daughter will have peace in her heart as she knows that she will never ever see those boys again.

'It is so hard every day having to live with having seen your daughter raped in front of you' she said.

The life of the traumatised mother-of-two was turned upside down when the gang who terrorised their neighbourhood for a year broke their way into her home targeting her daughter.

The violent gang of 11 young men aged between 18 and 22 had been behind a vicious mini-crime wave in the suburb of Durban for over a year and were wanted for at least five murders.

They had used automatic weapons, pistols and machetes to bring fear to locals and forced three families out of their homes in Mariannhill which they took over as their gang HQ.

But on Wednesday their luck ran out when a team of elite firearms officers were sent in to deal with them after they gang-raped a helpless woman in front of her mum and sister.

Forensic workers examine the scene where suspected criminals were killed during a police raid in Marianhill near Durban

Grieving family members were forced to identify the bodies of the alleged gang members

South African Police are currently waging a war on gangs who are engaged in a deadly battle for territory and control of the drugs, liquor and prostitution market

The masked and armed gang burst in through the kitchen door on March 28 and beat the 52-year-old mother and her two daughters age 16 and 24 in a blatant house robbery.

But then their attention switched to the eldest daughter who they then began to strip and then gang rape while the terrified mother and younger sister had to watch and listen.

Less than a week later nine of the gang lay dead in their HQ which had been turned according to locals into an 'abattoir' where they died during a two-minute gun battle with cops.

Swift justice was delivered on the ruthless gang by the crack KZN Provincial Stabilisation Team who had been mobilised after a tip-off as to where the gang were hiding out.

Angered by the brutal rape which had inflamed tempers in the terrified community the police team went in under the cover of darkness but a lookout warned the criminals.

The gang made the mistake of opening fire first and in a devastating response the firearms unit returned a barrage of fire which ended the young lives of the 9 desperados inside.

Two of the gang are believed to have escaped and are being hunted down by the team.

Yesterday the families of the nine dead gang members made a tearful procession past a dozen police vehicles and pathology teams to identify the bloodied bodies of their loved ones.

But the mother of the raped girl was praising the police action which will at last bring order to the once peaceful neighbourhood which is already coming together again as a unit.

The mother, who would not be named to protect her daughter, told reporters: 'It won't change what happened but it will bring closure to my daughter and to all of us as a family.

'What makes it worse is these were young boys I saw grow up in front of me and then they found drugs and firearms and then in numbers they grew and became so powerful'.

The weeping mother said that the gang broke in last week at about midnight while they were asleep and demanded money and started taking the TV and their mobile phones.

She told TimesLive: 'They wanted more money but I said I didn't have it and then they began assaulting me and my 16-year-old daughter and pushed us both onto the bed.

'While this was happening they were raping my older daughter and I could hear her screaming for help but I could do nothing as they were armed and assaulting us.

'I don't think my daughter will ever come back to stay here with me after what happened and I also think I'll be coming back to my house any time soon – I may have to sell it.

'My child is away staying with relatives as these guys were still roaming the area carrying out more crimes and she is undergoing counselling and was fearing they could return.

'I am staying at a friend's some way away from home and it is so painful to have your child raped while you are there and then forced to be separated from them by criminals'.

South African Police are currently waging a war on gangs who are engaged in a deadly battle for territory and control of the drugs, liquor and prostitution market

An elite firearm unit shot dead a gang of nine suspected of the gang rape of a young girl in front of her mother and other serious crimes in Durban

The mother made a living from renting several properties she owns but they have been left unoccupied as people were too scared of the gang to move in.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said the suspects that made up the gang were on their radar for a number of serious and violent crimes in the area.

He said they included murder, rape, armed robberies, house robberies theft and assault.

Col Netshiunda added: 'The Provincial Stabilisation Team pounced on the gang in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the shoot-out happened when they opened fire on us.

'The suspects have been behind a number of serious and violent crimes including murder but then raped this young girl and had made her mother watch during a house robbery.

'Information was received that the gang were planning a hit and we received intelligence giving an address and 9 gang members were shot dead and a hunt is on for 2 others'.

Police sources said at the time the police moved in on the gang they had just robbed two locals at gunpoint and were inside their HQ planning an execution of a rival gang boss.

One said: 'Information came our way that they were putting together a hit and that all 11 would be there and we took out 9 of them but unfortunately two of them got away.

'But we are on their tail and they most definitely will not be coming back here' he said.

Community police forum chairperson Dawood Chirwa said: 'This area had become a no-go zone and it's sad because these were just young kids that were known and grew up here.

'Then they got guns and brought terror to our community. A scared community can't do much because you report them and word goes around and these boys come back for you.'

Local ward councillor Reginald Cloete believes there are more members of the gang and said: 'Hopefully a message has been sent out and they will not return to this community'.

A local businessman, who would not be named, said: 'When it was dark the terror came and you locked the doors and stayed inside and hoped the gang would not come after you,

'Now people can sleep peacefully as the police have brought us the safety we so needed.

'There is no point in just arresting people this because they get R250 bail (£10) and within 15 minutes have robbed someone to get their bail money back and it all begins again.

'Bullets are better than bail and hopefully we can rebuild our community' he said.

Police found guns and a rifle in the house and are searching for two more gang members

South African Police in KZN are said to be waging a war on criminals who open fire on them first and so far this year some 37 suspects in KZN Province have been shot dead.

Every day in South Africa there are 75 murders and 120 rapes mainly carried out between rival gangs in impoverished areas where police patrols rarely venture.

X users showed little sympathy with one saying: 'I feel sorry for the parents. But those m…..f…kers had to die'. Another said: 'Case close – beautiful work KZN police'.