Foreign-owned businesses in Johannesburg were looted, in the latest in a series of anti-foreigner violence in South Africa. Police said they arrested 22 people in connection with the attacks.
Residents of one hostel set up burning barricades, while foreign workers nearby began clearing up after a local car garage was firebombed.
A police officer protects the property of foreign nationals in the Jeppestown area of JohannesburgMujahid Safodien/AFPA man carries a club and a Zulu shield outside a hostel in JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersLocals run after trying to rob a foreign motorist in JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersLocals gesture outside a hostel during anti-immigrant related violence in JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersA man holds a brick near the hostels in the Jeppestown area of Johannesburg where clashes broke outMujahid Safodien/AFPA man carrying an axe chats to a woman outside a hostel in Jeppestown, JohannesburgMujahid Safodien/AFP
South African police fired rubber bullets and a stun grenade on Friday, 17 April, to disperse African immigrants who had armed themselves with machetes in an area east of Johannesburg.
An African immigrant holds a machete in a run-down district of east JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersPolice officers fire rubber bullets as they disperse African immigrants carrying machetesSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersAn African immigrant runs as an armed police officer disperses machete-wielding immigrants in JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersPolice officers walk past a car that was burnt overnight in JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersPeople look at a burnt-out car after foreign nationals reportedly torched it in the early hours outside a hostel in the Jeppestown area, east of JohannesburgMujahid Safodien/AFPA child picks up casings from the rubber bullets fired by police in Jeppestown, JohannesburgMujahid Safodien/AFP
Police raided a hostel east of Johannesburg on 16 April after reports that residents were behind a wave of attacks on foreign-owned shops.
South African police raid a hostel in Benoni, outside Johannesburg, where residents have been protesting against the presence of foreign-owned shops, forcing them to shut downMarco Longari/AFPA police officer takes aim as they search a hostel east of JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersA South African anti-riot police officer raids the kitchen area of a hostel in Benoni, east of JohannesburgMarco Longari/AFPA South African anti-riot police officer frisks a man during a raid on a hostel in Benoni whose residents are suspected of having protested against foreign-owned shops in the areaMarco Longari/AFPA South African riot policeman lines up residents while raiding a hostel in BenoniMarco Longari/AFP
Several thousand South Africans took to the streets of Durban on 16 April to march against xenophobia. The march was organised after xenophobic attacks erupted in the Durban area and then spread to other parts of the country, culminating in violence that reportedly killed six people.
They marched peacefully to the City Hall. But then an anti-immigrant group attempted to disrupt the march and was met with police resistance.
People participate in a peace march after anti-immigrant violence flared in DurbanRogan Ward/ReutersHundreds of people participate in a peace march in DurbanRogan Ward/ReutersForeign nationals threaten to defend themselves as police get between them and South Africans after a peace march in DurbanRogan Ward/ReutersPolice encourage a group of foreign nationals to return to their homes after a peace march in DurbanRogan Ward/ReutersPeople take cover from a stun grenade and tear gas after clashes between locals and foreign nationals in DurbanAFPPeople run for cover from a stun grenade and tear gas in DurbanAFP
In the days before the peace march in Durban, more than 2,000 foreigners fled to camps erected on sports fields around the city, afraid to return home.
President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans to stop attacking immigrants, calling the attacks "shocking and unacceptable," adding that "no amount of frustration and anger can ever justify the attacks on foreign nationals".
South Africa is a major destination for asylum seekers and refugees, and the country currently houses more than 300,000 asylum seekers, according to projections by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said UNHCR spokeswoman Tina Ghelli.
A foreign national, wearing a "South Africa" jacket, clears items from his shop for fear of attacks in Primrose, outside JohannesburgSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersMen carry a refrigerator as foreign nationals pack up their shops in Primrose, about 15km east of JohannesburgMujahid Safodien/AFPA man loads goods onto a truck as foreign nationals pack up their shopsMujahid Safodien/AFPEast African men watch their goods being transported as foreign nationals pack up their shopsMujahid Safodien/AFP
"Xenophobia today can easily mutate into genocide tomorrow. Stop it," tweeted Zimbabwe Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, adding that the Zulu king should "extinguish what he ignited".
