South Africa anti-migrant clashes burn at least 23 vehicles

Anti-migrant clashes in South Africa burned at least 23 vehicles on Thursday after a court order required the government to restart processing some asylum applications.

Violence broke out in Soweto, in Johannesburg, and in the east coast port city of Durban after protests called by movements targeting undocumented migrants.

Police said allegations that a foreign national assaulted a South African demonstrator in Durban sparked violence that led to the burning of at least 14 vehicles. Three foreign nationals were arrested, police said.

An AFP reporter said South Africans burned down a foreigner-run business and looted other properties in Durban, while other migrants sought protection from security reinforcements.

In Soweto, at least nine vehicles were torched, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Superintendent Xolani Fihla told SABC television. “It's reported that there were clashes between foreign nationals in the area and South African nationals,” he said. “At the present moment, I can confirm that no injuries have been reported.”

The unrest followed a court ruling that found certain provisions of a government act on refugees unconstitutional because they blocked some people from accessing the asylum system on procedural grounds, including if they entered the country irregularly.

The government said Wednesday that the judgment “does not grant refugee status or permanent residence automatically to anyone who enters South Africa”.

Earlier protests by populist, anti-immigrant groups demanding that undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa by June 30 led tens of thousands of people to flee, some repatriated by their governments.