JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP)—South African police on Thursday recovered the body of a ninth woman east of Johannesburg in two months, as a string of murders continues to stoke public anxiety.

The country has one of the world’s highest homicide rates but the discovery of the women’s bodies, partially naked and battered, has raised fears that a serial killer or group of killers may be operating in the area.

Police have imposed a lockdown in Kempton Park in the Ekurhuleni municipality and officers mounted roadblocks after three of the bodies were found this week.

A police cordon stretched along the roadside where the latest victim was discovered, drawing clusters of residents who stood watching as investigators combed the scene.

Forensic officers in white protective suits moved around the area while the woman’s body lay under a sheet beside the road.

“We cannot continue picking up bodies,” deputy police chief Tebello Mosikili told journalists at the scene.

The killings have left residents shaken.

“This is very scary… because you can say us as woman and children are no longer safe,” said Patience Masa.

“I told someone on the phone that, I don’t feel safe, for this to happen in the morning, so we are not safe,” said another resident Zanele Vilakazi.

– Copy cat –

Police have offered a 400,000 rand ($25,000) reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the killer or killers, while the Democratic Alliance, the second largest political party in South Africa offered $31,000.

Mosikili said offices will investigate whether the Thursday discovery was linked to the earlier murders or if they were dealing with a copycat.

Gender-based violence is endemic in South Africa, where one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, according to the United Nations, despite years of government pledges to tackle it.

One of the victims, 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo, left her eight-year-old daughter at home to go for a jog and never returned. Her body was found on September 12 behind a hotel.

Her disappearance drew public attention after fellow runners launched a social media campaign to find her, bringing renewed focus to earlier cases and, later, to the discovery of more bodies.

The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties on July 15. A suspect was arrested two days later and appeared in court on Wednesday, police said.

Mosikili said the man was a foreigner but could not say from where.

The second woman, 32, was found partially clothed on August 24, while a third was discovered naked and in an advanced state of decomposition on September 10.

– Declared war –

Provincial premier Panyaza Lesufi on Thursday said “someone has declared war against us, and we will push back, we are not going to surrender”.’

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday said “no stone will be left unturned” to solve the killings, acknowledging “these incidents are causing fear and uncertainty in our communities, and especially among women”.

The killings have drawn condemnation from civil society and sporting bodies as calls grow for action on gender-based violence, which South Africa has declared a national emergency.

South Africa, a nation of 62 million people, has some of the highest rates of violence against women and children in the world, according to UN Women.