Over a dozen shacks were demolished or damaged when residents of Moeggesukkel informal settlement clashed with new occupiers on Thursday.

Some of the residents who had been living on the land longer allegedly destroyed the homes of the new occupiers.

One group claimed to have occupied the land since 2012 and has shacks next to blue toilets.

Resident Ruwaida Witbooi who also moved onto the land a month ago said, "We saw people approaching us from the other side of the blue toilets.

"They abused the National Disaster Act and saw an opportunity to illegally invade municipal land which was identified by the national Department of Human Settlements to bring some relief and to de-densify the Moeggesukkel informal settlement."