KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda stated: "The Provincial Stabilisation Team pounced on the gang in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

"The suspects had been on our radar for serious and violent crimes but then allegedly raped a young girl and made her mother watch during a house robbery.

"The shoot-out happened when we received intelligence that the gang were plotting to execute a hit on a rival so an action plan was quickly put into place," he continued, adding that "Nine gang members were shot dead and three firearms have so far been found in their possession and a manhunt for two suspects is underway."

A South African Police detective based in Durban stated: "This group had been pushing and pushing for a while and this horrific gang rape was just the final straw.

"It happened just before info came in to where the gang could be found so the green light was given to arrest them but they made a mistake in opening fire first.

"The response was instant and when the shooting stopped 9 of those inside were dead," he said.

The Daily Mail reports that "Every day in South Africa there are 75 murders and 120 rapes mainly carried out between rival gangs and in the impoverished areas where police rarely venture" as the gangs battle over territory and control of drugs, alcohol and prostitution.