This morning, a 55-year-old white farmer was shot dead on his tobacco farm, which had been occupied by black squatters.

About 1,750 white-owned farms are still occupied by black squatters.

Today's march was organized to call for peace in the country and to protest the recent invasions of white-owned farms by black squatters.

The government has since resettled black squatters on hundreds of white-owned farms in an effort to win support from rural communities hungry for land.

A high court judge told black squatters who have built shacks on vacant land near Johannesburg to leave within 48 hours or face forcible eviction.

The bills also proposed sweeping powers that could have led to the eviction of an estimated 10 million black squatters living illegally near major cities.

In recent weeks black squatters have occupied more than 800 white-owned farms.

In the violent political campaign, at least 26 people were killed and more than 1,000 white farms invaded by black squatters.

One 48-year-old farmer said he had received death threats from the black squatters who invaded his farm back home.

Only last week, a commission appointed by the South African Government said that an elite army unit used inexcusable force against black squatters.