South African cities are on lockdown, the military has stood down as anti-immigrant protests escalate

Demonstrators wrapped in flags and carrying sticks gathered in South Africa on Tuesday in an anti-immigrant march, some of which erupted into violence amid police who were on high alert, as shops were closed and foreign workers stayed at home.

Thousands of foreigners from other parts of Africa have already fled the country ahead of a Tuesday “deadline” set by protesters for all undocumented immigrants to leave.

In parts of the major commercial city of Johannesburg and the port of Thekwini, hundreds of protesters marched with South African flags and carried wooden batons, watched by police in armored vehicles and helicopters.

“People are not working, jobs are being taken by illegal immigrants. It is not right,” said Silindile Xaba, 31, who is part of the women who were chanting anti-immigrant slogans in the center of Durban.

Migrants interpreted the deadline as a physical threat, and there were widespread signs of violence during the midday period, although the march was peaceful. The police said they arrested the robbers, but did not give any more information.

In Thembisa, an area north of Johannesburg, rioters threw stones at police and suspected migrants, while sporadic gunfire was heard near the business district.

National newspaper Daily Maverick reported that police deployed tactical vehicles and opened fire in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, after 500 protesters were threatened.

A police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a populous township in Soweto, protesters ransacked the shacks of foreigners, the national broadcaster SABC reported.

At least five people have been killed in violence since protests began in April, and thousands have been driven from their homes or seen businesses and property destroyed.

In these attacks, which have happened again and again in South Africa since 2008, little distinction is made between those who entered legally and those who did not.

The soldiers are waiting

The group campaigning in March and March, run by a former broadcaster after recent protests, denies inciting violence, and says it cannot be held responsible for spontaneous acts of anger among South Africans against undocumented immigrants.

“We are trying to convey that anger to the government,” Jacinta Ngobese told Reuters in an interview two weeks ago.

“Unfortunately, we can’t be in every single community telling them … how they should behave. They live with these people.”

House owners in Durban and Johannesburg have been evicting illegal immigrant tenants because they are afraid that their buildings will be destroyed, said eyewitnesses.

“All these people were evicted by the landlords,” said Mabako Majole, a Congolese community leader, standing next to about 100 people who are sleeping rough in the city of Durban. “All these people are legal. They have papers.”

The marches in several cities are expected to draw thousands of South Africans, many of whom are poor or unemployed and blame outsiders for their plight.

Thousands of police officers have been deployed and the military is ready with an emergency budget of 600 million rands ($52 million), an army spokesman said.

The wave of immigration tensions, with critics saying the police’s failure to protect victims, has tarnished South Africa’s post-Nelson Mandela reputation as a defender of human rights and damaged relations with other African countries.

Immigrants are accused of taking jobs, driving crime and putting pressure on public services – social scientists say there is no evidence.

“There are streets in the city where shops are run by immigrants, in my village [Ulundi]Ethiopians have many shops. That hurts the people who were there before,” Meluneki Dlamini, 31, who is unemployed, told Reuters at the march in Durban.

The security guards were arrested

Thirty years after the end of apartheid, South Africa remains unequal, economic growth is slow and a third of the population is unemployed. Despite this, it remains Africa’s largest economy and continues to attract immigrants.

The number of immigrants stands at about three million, or about four percent, of the total, according to StatsSA – a low share by international standards.

The Deputy National Police Commissioner, Tebello Mosikili, said that 103 cases have been filed against immigration officers since March, and the state has a duty to ensure that protests are peaceful.

Some politicians expressed concern about the protesters, although they condemned the violence.

“The people of South Africa … the deep concern about illegal immigration … is real and must be heeded,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday.

“But the right to protest … does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or engage in acts of vandalism or violence.”

South African officials note that Western countries face similar tensions over immigration, often fueled by divisive politics and misinformation.