following overnight street battles in
downtown Johannesburg.
Khadija Patel | 17 Apr 2015 14:34 GMT |
War & Conflict , Politics
Arrests are being made in Johannesburg
following attacks against foreign nationals
[EPA]
CONFRONTATION IN JEPPESTOWN
- Mukelwa Hlatshwayo, Al Jazeera
producer
"We are currently in downtown
Johannesburg's Jeppestown area
where locals and foreign nationals
have been involved in sporadic
clashes.
People had gathered here earlier in
the morning and were dispersed by
police, but they have returned to the
area.
During the early hours of Friday
morning, there were street fights:
people were burning cars and there
were reports that foreigner-owned
shops had been burgled as well.
Police are currently trying to disperse
the crowd but both groups are
determined and refuse to stand down.
There are about 200 people on each
side and they are refusing to
disperse. The situation is tense, but
appears to be contained to this part of
Jeppestown only. Jeppestown has a
high concentration of foreign
nationals from various countries.
I am currently seeing mainly Nigerian
and Congolese nationals. They say
that they will not disperse and the
government needs to do more to
resolve the situation.
Meanwhile, we are getting reports
that the Department of International
Relations and Cooperation is holding
a press conference where it has
apologised to the diplomatic corps
and stated that the spate of violence,
some of it fuelled by criminal
elements, is by no means a reflection
of of the broader country."
Arrests have been made in South Africa as
anti-immigrant violence spreads to parts
of Johannesburg's commercial heart.
Police fired more rubber-coated steel
bullets at a crowd of anti-immigrant
protesters in downtown Johannesburg on
Friday afternoon, as they tried to separate
the protesters from a group of immigrants.
In Gauteng province, of which
Johannesburg is the capital city, police
arrested 18 people after overnight street
battles, Major-General Phumzo Gela,
deputy police commissioner, said on
Friday afternoon.
Earlier on Friday, police clashed with a
crowd of South Africans in
Johannesburg's Jeppestown area.
The crowd carrying hammers and axes
gathered near the city centre, chanting
"Foreigners must leave."
Groups of South Africans in Jeppestown
and Cleveland blocked roads with rocks
and burning tyres and then ordered
foreigners to leave the country, police
said.
Jeppestown and Cleveland are
neighbourhoods adjoining the
Johannesburg Central Business District
(CBD).
#xenophobicattacks police now
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1:10 AM - 17 Apr 2015
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A number of shops in the CBD were
reported to have been looted and
vandalised, further escalating tensions
between foreigners and South Africans in
Johanneburg.
Police said the suspects were trying to
break into shops owned by foreigners.
Colonel Dlamini, police spokesperson, told
Al Jazeera calm had been restored, but
refused to reveal whether police had
received credible reports of further threats
of violence against foreigners in the city.
Violence targeting immigrants started
earlier in April in the port city of Durban,
claiming the lives of six people so far.
Rumours circulating
Rumours of imminent attacks on
foreigners have continued to affect foreign
nationals in Johannesburg.
Ahmed Fifa, a 35-year-old shop owner in
the Ramaphosa settlement east of
Johannesburg, said foreign nationals were
warned by locals to vacate the area on
Thursday night.
"One of the community leaders came to us
and told us to move all our stuff and save
our lives," he said.
According to Fifa, the South Africans in
Ramaphosa are divided between those
who seek to protect foreigners and those
intent on violently driving foreigners out.
"I can't go back until the situation remains
stable," Fifa said. "I have seen the
pictures of what happened in Durban and I
need to save my life.
"The only problem we have here is the
xenophobia."
In Durban, where six people have been
killed in the last two weeks of violence
against immigrants, police spokesperson
Jay Naicker a fragile calm had been
maintained on Friday.
"Overnight we had no reported incidents
and it has been calm," Naicker said,
adding that the police had not received
reports of further threats against
immigrants in coastal city.
He said foreigners would still not be re-
integrated into the affected communities.
"The area is still tense and the police and
security deployment will remain for a
while," Naicker said.
Amir Sheikh, chairperson of the Somali
Community Board based in Johannesburg,
said the violence in Durban has inflamed
tensions between South Africans and
foreigners.
"Some of our members have been
harassed in Johannesburg following the
violence in Durban," he said.
Late on Thursday a widely disseminated
text message claimed that "a train of
Zulus" had departed for Johannesburg.
"These men are armed and they are going
to be killing any foreigner they meet
tomorrow," the text message said.
The source of these messages remains
unclear, but their proliferation has sowed
panic and confusion among migrant
communities.
"Our members have been unable to go
about their day-to-day businesses
because each time they open their
businesses, a new message is received
saying members of a certain ethnic group
are gathering to attack them," Sheikh
said.
While these rumours have so far, proven
to be false, its effects have already been
felt.
Foreign owned stores around
Johannesburg have been closed for at
least two days already.
"The unfounded rumours have caused
more damage to our members than
anything else," Sheikh said.
On Thursday South African President
Jacob Zuma and leaders of the opposition
in parliament spoke out against the
violence against foreign nationals.
Zuma said that the majority of South
Africans were not xenophobic.
"We reiterate our view that South Africans
are generally not xenophobic," he said.
"If they were, we would not have such a
high number of foreign nationals who have
been successfully integrated into
communities all over our country, in
towns, cities and villages."
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has received news
reports that in South Africa's neighbouring
country of Mozambique, crowds have
reportedly prevented South African trucks
from crossing the border.
Sasol, the South African energy giant, has
been forced to repatriate its South African
staff in Mozambique.
South Africa has been seeking diplomatic
support from countries across the
continent to defeat what South African
Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-
Mashabane described as the "demon" of
anti-immigrant violence
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