As anti-immigration protests erupt in South Africa, police have been deployed in key cities while Nigerian Consulate has released hotlines for emergency.
According to the twitter handle of Newsroom daily, many protesters have hit the streets.
Reports say that some shops and houses have been touched.
Chris Gibson@ChrisGibsonNews reported a large anti-immigrant protests in South Africa.
“Follows torching of dozens of shops and houses owned by immigrants,” he tweeted on Friday.
Also Africa Review reports also that the police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to break up clashes between local South African protesters and migrants in Pretoria on Friday.
The protesters which obtained police permit to carry out their rally staged a march as promised against immigrants.
According to Africa Review, shops and homes owned by foreigners have been looted and torched in recent weeks.
Some of vexed South Africans alleged that the properties were brothels and drug dens.
Attacks against foreigners have erupted regularly in recent years, fuelled by South Africa’s high unemployment and poverty levels.
Police formed lines to keep apart 500 protesters as as tensions rose between some South Africans and migrants from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Pakistan and elsewhere.
“We are fed up with people bringing drugs to the youth and the crimes that go with it,” said a South African marcher who declined to be named.
As the stand-off continued, Mr Clement Melfort, 26, a migrant from Zimbabwe who had come to see the march told AFP: “We are not afraid of fighting.”
President Jacob Zuma condemned the latest wave of xenophobic unrest, saying that there had been “threats of violence and acts of intimidation and destruction of property directed at non-nationals”.
“Residents in some communities blame non-nationals for the escalating crimes especially drug trafficking,” the presidency said in a statement on Friday.
President Zuma called for South Africans not to blame migrants for the country’s widespread crime problems, but said the government would crack down on drug-dealing and illegal immigrants.
USA News@1USNews said South Africa government has urged restraint amid anti-foreigner protests.
gia@nottinbutaig said: “South Africa anti-immigrant protests erupt in capital.”
Newsroom@NewsroomDaily said that anti-immigrant protests broke out in South Africa and Nigerian Consulate released hotlines.
America Daily@AmericanDaily_South Africa anti-immigrant protests erupt in capital and confirmed that police fired stun grenades, rubber bullets.
kirunga joy @kirungajoy reported that street protests kick off against immigrants in South Africa.
“I hope we don’t see xenophobia again,” Kirunga said.
Source: BNN
