The tensions in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) come amid months of sustained xenophobic attacks targeting African immigrants.
For illustrative purposes only: (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)
The United States (US) Consulate General in Durban has issued a safety alert following reports of looting and violence targeting foreign nationals in Durban’s central business district.
Tensions escalated on Wednesday following reports that cars believed to belong to foreign nationals were being damaged with stones and foreign-owned shops looted.
US warning
The consulate has instructed U.S. government personnel to exercise extreme caution, maintain a low profile and divert travel away from the CBD until further notice.
“Avoid the area, steer clear of crowds and demonstrations, maintain a low profile, remain alert to their surroundings, monitor local media for developments, review personal security plans, and contact the South African Police Service on 10111 or 112 from a mobile phone in the event of an emergency,” the consulate said.
Anti-illegal immigrants
The tensions in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) come amid months of sustained xenophobic attacks targeting African immigrants in South Africa.
Anti-illegal immigrant protests across several provinces escalated earlier this year to the point of requiring police intervention, after demonstrators began openly threatening the safety of foreign nationals and their property.
Campaigns
One of the organisations at the forefront, March and March, set a hard deadline of 30 June for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.
Widespread campaigns against migrants have seen thousands of Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans, Mozambicans and Zimbabweans flee South Africa.
SA not xenophobic
In June, President Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that “South Africans are not xenophobic” as he called for peaceful coexistence and greater economic cooperation across the continent.
“South Africans are not xenophobic. South Africans are Africans; they want to live with other Africans peacefully, and our people are calling on us as leaders to resolve the many challenges that are brought to bear by the challenge of migration, and I did say that in South Africa, we are addressing this matter.”
Ramaphosa hosted his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, at the Union buildings in Pretoria.
The president hailed Kenya as “one of South Africa’s most important strategic partners in East Africa,” stressing that the two nations are bound by “shared history, common aspirations for African development and mutual commitment to peace, democracy, regional integration and multilateralism.”
