38,000 Malawians flee South Africa unrest

Malawi said Friday it had brought 38,094 nationals home from South Africa between June 7 and July 8 as foreigners left amid anti-migrant threats and violence. Six Malawians died from illness during or soon after the journey, Malawi's disaster management department said.

Commissioner Wilson Moleni told AFP that four people died in transit and two after crossing into Malawi, all of whom were ill when they began travelling. He said people being chased and moving from place to place could not access medicine and hospital care, and that time in camps in South Africa worsened some conditions.

South African police have said two Mozambican nationals, a Malawian and an Ethiopian were killed in violence linked to the unrest. Malawi said more than 570 buses were involved in the repatriation.

South Africa's border authority told AFP that most of about 46,000 returnees processed at the Beitbridge border post since June 7 were Malawians, followed by Zimbabweans. Border commissioner Michael Masiapato said about 60,000 people had been repatriated and deported during the period.

Zimbabwe's government said it had helped nearly 21,300 citizens return from South Africa since late May. Uganda's government said around 1,100 of its nationals had been repatriated, while hundreds of Mozambicans and Kenyans also left.