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 using live
ammunition to clean up the streets.
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.
CONFRONTATION IN JEPPESTOWN
- Mukelwa Hlatshwayo, mapolyinfo 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."
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.
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.
In the southern province of Eastern Cape, a local website
has reported that four foreign-owned stores were looted
in the town of Cala.
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
"generally not xenophobic."
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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