North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria Several cars were damaged as police pushed the soldiers back from the Union Buildings, he said. Soldiers threw a petrol bomb into one vehicle, it was reported.
The South African National Defense Union, which is not recognized by the government as an official union, was demanding 30 percent salary increases, which Minister of Defense Lindiwe Sisulu called "deliberately provocative".
Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa, in a statement, "strongly condemned" the violence.
"The illegal march, which was supposedly to be peaceful, deteriorated into chaos as scores of SANDF [South African National Defense Force] members were seen causing havoc.
"While members of the SANDF had the right of freedom of assembly and to protest, there can be no justification for their behavior, which negated their status as the defenders of the nation," said Mthethwa.
Police used water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse about 1 000 soldiers who staged an illegal march on the Union Buildings, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Soldiers tried to climb the fence surrounding the main government complex in Pretoria
"The illegal march, which was supposedly to be peaceful, deteriorated into chaos as scores of SANDF [South African National Defense Force] members were seen causing havoc.