Various international news media reports foreign nationals in the coastal city of Durban South Africa have been subjected to xenophobic attacks by some South Africans. There have been reported cases of shops been looted and burnt whilst reports have it that about 4 people have been killed police said on Monday.
According to the BBC the violence started after alleged comments by the Zulu king telling migrants to go home – although the he says he was mistranslated. King Zwelithini told them he was talking “only about those who don’t have papers and documentation in South Africa. This triggered attacks in neighborhoods were poverty is very and high with many blaming foreign nationals for taking away their jobs.
Meanwhile South African President Jacob Zuma’s son, Edward, has come out in support of the Zulu king’s alleged comments. “We need to be aware that as a country we are sitting on a ticking time bomb,” he said, adding that foreigners were “taking over the country”.
Various news reports sighted did not specifically mention Nigerians as victims, however those killed include an Ethiopian, whose shop was petrol bombed last week, an African immigrant whose nationality was not immediately known and two South Africans, police spokesman Thulani Zwane said.
Four people were killed and shops owned by immigrants in South African townships in the coastal city of Durban looted and burnt, police said on Monday, as violence between residents and foreign nationals escalated.
Those killed include an Ethiopian, whose shop was petrol bombed last week, an African immigrant whose nationality was not immediately known and two South Africans, police spokesman Thulani Zwane said.
