South Africa cracks down on attacks on foreigners

At least 18 arrested after Johannesburg businesses hit by anti-immigrant violence

JOHANNESBURG— Shops and vehicles owned by foreigners were attacked in downtown Johannesburg on Friday as the South African government tried to quell a wave of anti-immigrant violence that has claimed at least four lives in the country.

Police spokesman Col. Jay Naicker said no violence was reported in the coastal city of Durban, where the violence began days earlier.

Police officers fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse crowds of immigrants from other African countries who had armed themselves to protect their businesses from attacks by black South Africans, who accuse them of stealing their jobs. At least 18 people were arrested

About 100 foreigners took refuge in a Johannesburg police station overnight, fearing for their safety, said police spokesman Col. Lungelo Dlamini. Some also stayed in a community centre.

The unrest started in the southern city of Durban, where four immigrants from elsewhere in Africa were killed in attacks in recent days, fuelled by a traditional leader’s xenophobic comments. It spread to Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, as national leaders responded slowly.

In an address to the National Assembly on Thursday, President Jacob Zuma condemned the violence and appealed for calm. At the same time, Zuma said that he was “sympathetic” to the social and economic conditions that seemed to underlie the attacks by mostly poor young blacks against immigrants from other nations. “There are socio-economic issues that have been raised which are being attended to.”

With Africa’s most advanced economy, South Africa is home to about five million immigrants, mostly from other African nations, but also from the Middle East and Asia.

In past waves of anti-immigrant violence, other Africans — who often run small businesses in areas with impoverished black South Africans — have often been the target of resentment.

With unemployment and poverty levels high in the country, the immigrants are often accused of taking jobs that should go to South Africans.