South Africa's many thousands of squatters live in fear of a security firm called the "Red Ants" known of their ruthless approach to evictions.

The squad is usually hired by the government or property owners to remove people from private land or condemned buildings. They arrive on the scene carrying crow-bars, or even guns - and all clad in red overalls and helmets.

The company has faced a lot of criticism over the years for using violence and heavy-handed tactics during their raids. But Wozani - the firm's official name - says this is necessary.

In many instances those being evicted stage strong resistance. The stand-offs can go on for hours and the police are often called in to restore calm.

"People need to understand that they are not dealing with a group of sissies who will stand by and watch as people throw stones at them,” Wozani's head Dennis Klaasen told the BBC.

Both the Red Ants and the government have been criticised by human rights activists for not ensuring that people have alternative accommodation, but Mr Klaasen says this is up to the courts to decide.

"I have nowhere to go and no way of contacting my parents," says eight-year-old Niko Mkabelo, a Mozambican immigrant separated from his family when their shack was destroyed west of Johannesburg. A mining company is said to have re-possessed the land from the squatters.

The Red Ants usually strike at the crack of dawn when people least expect them. Residents of a flat in central Johannesburg say they were forced out of their rooms half-dressed and were not given time to collect their belongings.

“If you live in a top-floor flat and you cannot get your household goods down the stairs, the only alternative you have is to throw them out of the window,” one man in Johannesburg said.

Some evictions are ordered because the buildings house illegal migrants. This group of blind Zimbabweans were living with others in a dilapidated flat in central Johannesburg before their eviction.

Many of those evicted are left homeless. When it is cold, some light fires with wood from their destroyed furniture to keep warm.