South Africa Zuma: Punches thrown at State of Nation address

Image captionA fistfight erupted as about 30 guards ejected the EFF members, dressed in red

Punches have been thrown in South Africa's parliament as radical MPs tried to disrupt the State of the Nation address by President Jacob Zuma.

Members of the radical Economic Freedom Fighters' party (EFF), all dressed in red, scuffled with security guards who ejected them from the chamber.

Mr Zuma had twice got to his feet but was shouted down by EFF MPs.

Previous addresses by Mr Zuma have been marred by protests and brawls as MPs demanded his resignation.

The president has been dogged by corruption allegations for more than a decade.

On Thursday, there were raised voices and chaotic scenes as Speaker Baleka Mbete tried to deal with repeated interruptions and procedural questions from MPs at the parliament in Cape Town.

Members of another opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, then walked out.

Despite further interruptions, President Zuma eventually resumed his address.

Mr Zuma had angered some MPs ahead of his speech by ordering the deployment of about 440 troops to maintain law and order in parliament on the day.

Opposition parties condemned the decision as a "declaration of war".

It was the first time that troops had a security rather than a ceremonial role.

Previous State of the Nation speeches have been marred by chaos in parliament.

Since winning seats in 2014, members of the Economic Freedom Fighters' party (EFF) have caused disruption by chanting and jeering at the president over allegations of corruption.

In 2015, EFF members were removed from the chamber by security guards disguised as waiters.

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Jacob Zuma: Key facts

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• With no formal schooling, he joined the ANC at 17 and was jailed for 10 years on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela
• A charismatic politician, he shook off various scandals to become president in 2009
• But his presidency has been dogged by allegations of corruption
• Last year, the Constitutional Court ruled he had breached the constitution by failing to repay government money spent on upgrades including a swimming pool and chicken run at his private home in Nkandla
• The anti-corruption watchdog then said a judicial inquiry should be set up to further investigate allegations of criminal activity in government in relation to the Guptas, a business family with links to Mr Zuma
• The 74-year-old survived three no-confidences votes last year, two in parliament and one within the ANC
• He is due to step down as ANC leader in December and as president after general elections in 2019.