Shops set ablaze, looted as xenophobic attacks spread in South
Africa
By Faith Karimi and Diana Magnay, CNN
Updated 0305 GMT (1005 HKT) April 18, 2015
Xenophobic attacks spread to Johannesburg 02:51
Story highlights
Attacks against immigrant businesses started in Durban
The attacks have left six people dead
Johannesburg (CNN)South African police fired rubber bullets
Friday to disperse crowds setting immigrant businesses ablaze as
attacks against foreigners spread to Johannesburg.
Chanting and singing, machete-armed residents burned down
shops owned by foreigners, including a Nigerian dealership in the
nation’s largest city.
Immigrants carrying bricks accused police of not doing enough to
protect them as businesses smoldered.
Six people killed
Violence targeting immigrant shops started recently in the port city
of Durban, where two foreigners and three South Africans were
killed. Residents have accused African immigrants of taking their
jobs and committing crimes. The unemployment rate in South
Africa is 25%, according to government figures.
A sixth d€ath occurred Wednesday. The body of a 58-year-old
foreign national was found in Verulam town, where a mob attacked
the man at his home. He fled and died of his injuries near his
home, South African police said.
At least 112 people have been arrested throughout KwaZulu-Natal
Province for various offenses related to the violence, police said.
Social and economic issues
President Jacob Zuma said his government is addressing social
and economic issues brought up by citizens. He said immigrants
contribute to the nation’s economy while others bring scarce
skills.
“While some foreign nationals have been arrested for various
crimes, it is misleading and wrong to label or regard all foreign
nationals as being involved in crime in the country,” Zuma said.
As the violence spread to other cities, terrified immigrants sought
a resolution. Others fled, taking refuge at police stations in major
cities.
“They are using this as scapegoats,” said Jean-Pierre Lukamba,
an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Every day, migrants are living in this fire. It’s not just attacks.
It’s institutionalized xenophobia. The government must do
something. Those people aren’t just mad for no reason. They want
electricity, they want jobs, they want water.”
‘They don’t understand the history of Africa’
Lukamba said he’s part of an organization trying to negotiate
between the two sides.
“They don’t understand the history of Africa; if they do, they would
know each of us, we are one,” he said.
Thousands fled to temporary shelters, with aid group Gift of the
Givers saying about 8,500 people are hiding in refugee centers or
police stations this week because of the violence. The number did
not include those who have moved in with friends or relatives.
The aid group said it has a facility in Johannesburg to help those
who might need shelter.
“We are preparing aid packages for those who may journey
onwards to their home countries,” it said.
Police ordered to work around the clock
The violence spread from Durban to Johannesburg even though
Zuma has condemned the attacks and appealed for calm.
“No amount of frustration or anger can ever justify the attacks on
foreign nationals and the looting of their shops,” he said. “The
attacks violate all the values that South Africa embodies,
especially the respect for human life.”
Zuma said he has ordered police to work around the clock to
protect citizens and immigrants, and arrest the perpetrators.
In Mozambique, the South African energy and chemical giant Sasol
was temporarily returning about 340 South African nationals to
South Africa “as a precautionary measure,” Sasol spokesman Alex
Anderson said.
Mozambican employees of Sasol service providers have voiced
concern about reported violence against Mozambicans and other
foreign nationals in South Africa and protested the presence of
South African employees in Mozambique.
“We have had no cases of violence at our sites and the situation
remains calm,” Anderson said in a statement.
In the past, Johannesburg has b
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