Police had not acted on behalf of any faction when they intervened at the recent ANC Youth League conference in Limpopo, provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Calvin Sengani said yesterday.

Police had not acted on behalf of any faction when they intervened at the recent ANC Youth League conference in Limpopo, provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Calvin Sengani said yesterday.

He was responding to claims that the police were used to evict opponents of a group aligned to ANCYL president Julius Malema from the chaotic conference, held in Louis Trichardt.

At one stage during the conference open fighting broke out and the police used water cannon.

Sengani said in a statement that Limpopo police were perturbed by the "continuous accusations" levelled at them over their conduct during the conference.

"We want to make it clear that police deployments at the conference were in accordance with the stated procedures regarding policing of gatherings. We were there to ensure the safety and security of all attendees," he said.

"The police were never used by any party or section of the conference to act against anyone but were dictated by the operational demands that were prevailing at the time." - Sapa