Anti-immigrant attacks spread to South African capital

South Africa has been hit by a wave of violence against African and other immigrants in the last two weeks. Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

JOHANNESBURG // Twelve people were arrested overnight as anti-foreigner attacks in South Africa spread to parts of central Johannesburg, police said Friday.

“Twelve suspects were arrested for trying to break into foreign-owned shops,” said police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini.

It was the latest incident in a wave of immigrant-targeted violence that began earlier this month in Durban, leaving at least six people dead.

The protesters from a local hostel demanded foreign nationals leave South Africa, setting cars alight and clashing with police, according to local reports.

No injuries were reported, said Lt Col Dlamini.

The scene remained tense Friday morning, with hostel-dwellers telling reporters they wanted immigrants to know they were not welcome in the country.

President Jacob Zuma has condemned the violence in parliament.

“No amount of frustration or anger can ever justify the attacks on foreign nationals and the looting of their shops,” he said Thursday night.

South Africans and immigrants from other African countries often compete for scarce jobs, making them a target for violence and intimidation.

Early this year, foreign shopkeepers in and around Soweto, south of Johannesburg, were forced to vacate their premises after violence and looting broke out.

In 2008, 62 people were killed in xenophobic violence in Johannesburg townships.

* Agence France-Presse