Five Citizens Killed ln South Africa Xenophobic Attack- Mozambique

The Mozambican government says in a statement that five of its citizens have been killed in a xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

It says around 800 Mozambican nationals were caught up in the violence that broke out in the southern coastal city of Mossel Bay.

The region has seen protests against illegal migrants similar to demonstrations that have swept across South Africa in recent weeks.

Maputo’s press office said another two people had died in a road accident as they travelled in a private vehicle back to Mozambique.

The statement noted that the violence prompted about 300 Mozambicans to return home by their own means.

“The remaining just over 500 have since been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, the process of their repatriation to Mozambique is already underway,” it says.

Meanwhile, South African police say they are investigating the deaths of two men at an informal settlement in Mossel Bay, some 380 kilometres east of Cape Town, where xenophobic attacks had been reported.

They did not say whether the deaths were linked to the protests or what nationality the two men were.

Amid South Africa’s high unemployment and economic difficulties, anti-immigrant sentiment has surged to historic levels in recent months.

Accused of flooding the country, foreigners in fact make up just four per cent of the population nationally, according to a recent study by the Wits University-based Migrating for Work Research Consortium.

The country has faced recurring waves of xenophobic violence since 2008, when dozens of migrants were killed and thousands displaced in attacks across the country.

One citizen-led group, March and March, has issued an ultimatum for illegal migrants to be expelled from the country by 30 June.

Africannews