A fire in the Wartenweiler Library has damaged about 100 books at the University of the Witwatersrand while the Catholic Church has criticised those who "violated" its neutrality. The university said the fire on Wednesday afternoon was started on the library’s second floor. "Security has determined that the fire was started with an accelerant, or flammable substance‚ which may have been hidden in a bag found on the scene. "The fire was extinguished quickly and a high-level investigation is under way by Wits Security and the police." Wits is struggling with the Fees Must Fall protests that began in September. On Wednesday its executive management team was ordered to leave a peace meeting hosted by the Academic Staff Association of Wits University‚ church leaders and others at the Holy Trinity Church. "We are disappointed that people felt that we should exit the peace meeting even after we had been invited to attend it‚" said Prof Adam Habib‚ the vice-chancellor and principal of Wits ...

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