A harrowing video has emerged on social media showing five men being tied together and set on fire in front of a baying crowd in South Africa.

It was initially claimed on social media that the video was footage of another xenophobic attack on foreigners in South Africa.

However according to the police, all of the victims were South African nationals, accused of brawling with a 30-year-old man in a bar and later fatally killing him.

The five murderers were rounded up by a lynch mob and were brutally set on fire on the streets of a settlement in Rustenburg.

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According to the police, all of the victims were South African nationals, accused of brawling with a 30-year-old man in a bar and later fatally killing him.

Shot from a mobile phone by a witness of the appalling scene, the grainy video shows a lynch mob rounding up the perpetrators and openly punishing the men in Sodela, an impoverish settlement in Rustenburg.

Two of the victims have since died from their burns in hospital whilst one of the three surviving burns victims has been charged with attempted murder and murder of the 30-year-old man.

He has since appeared in Rustenburg Magistrates Court several times and is due back in court next week.

The video shows a furious mob of locals, urging on the appalling act which appears to have taken place on a public road.

The video shows a furious mob of locals, urging on the appalling act which appears to have taken place on a public road.

Five terrified young men can be seen lying among the piles of discarded rubbish. All of the victims seem to have their arms tied behind their back and stare in horror as the mob leader approaches them.

Dressed in a stripey t-shirt and loose trousers, the man takes his time to squirt petrol on to the heads and shoulders of the five men, using a plastic water bottle.

The furious crowd begins to intensify their shouts for justice, impatiently urging the mob leader to carry out the barbaric punishment.

The angry crowd begins to intensify their shouts for justice, impatiently urging the mob leader to get on with the punishment.

Helplessly looking for a means to escape, one of the kneeling victims struggles on the ground, attempting to unchain himself from the car tyre which links him to one of his other unfortunate friends.

At his request, the mob leader is handed a cigarette lighter from the crowd and he slowly approaches the helpless victims.

Bending down, he sets fire to the shirt of one of the men accused of murder, causing his clothes to erupt into flames. With the two victims tied together, the burning man leaps up from the ground and attempts to flee but is quickly pulled down by the weight of his shackled friend.

Writhing in agony, the burning man attempts to put the flames out but only manages to free himself from the tyre.

The heinous crime took place last March but only recently emerged on social media, with many users claiming it was evidence of another xenophobic attack.

The crowd sang songs, condemning the recent xenophobic attacks. They also displayed banners , emblazoned with the slogan: "We are all Africans".

Thousands of residents in Johannesburg matched through the city yesterday, protesting over the rise of indiscriminate attack on immigrants.

Whilst the two men attempt to escape on fire, the other three men are set alight. The crowd stands back as the flames spread.

Fearing the burning man might set fire to someone in the crowd, a vigilante pushes him back to the ground and forces the tyre back on him.

The heinous crime took place last March but only recently emerged on social media, with many users claiming it was evidence of another xenophobic attack.

Thousands of residents in Johannesburg matched through the city yesterday, protesting over the rise of indiscriminate attack on immigrants in Durham and Johannesburg.