South Africa official says over 60,000 migrants left

More than 60,000 foreign nationals have left South Africa during weeks of anti-immigrant protests and violence, Border Management Authority commissioner Michael Masiapato said, as officials warned that porous borders could allow many people to return through informal crossings.

Masiapato said more than 46,000 migrants had been repatriated and deported through Beitbridge, on the border with Zimbabwe, since June 7. He said most were Malawians, followed by Zimbabweans, while nationals of Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya had taken flights organised by their governments.

Police said at least four foreign nationals had been killed in attacks linked to the protests. Some African governments repatriating their citizens have given higher death tolls.

Albert Matsaung, the provincial home affairs chief managing a repatriation centre near Beitbridge, said more than 21,000 people had been housed and processed there.

Officials said irregular crossings remain a major challenge along the Limpopo River frontier. Masiapato said South Africa could not guarantee a complete stop to illegal immigration without a physical barrier along unfenced stretches of the border.