Army kills man during Jhb unrest

2008-05-24 17:06

Johannesburg - South African troops have killed a man in a Johannesburg township during operations to quell anti-immigrant mob violence, the army said on Saturday, as the police claimed unrest was abating.

"We unfortunately had an incident where a member of the public was shot when he pointed a firearm at a soldier. He was shot dead," army spokesperson General Kwena Mangope told AFP, adding that the death occurred on Friday evening.

Soldiers were sent on to Johannesburg's streets on Thursday for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994 in a bid to help stem a tide of violence that has seen mobs of armed youths attack foreigners.

At least 42 people have been killed, more than 500 arrested and 17 000 displaced since the unrest broke out in Johannesburg nearly two weeks ago.

National police spokesperson Sally de Beer told AFP that a few outbreaks of xenophobic violence had been reported overnight in North West province, but the hotspot of violence around Johannesburg had cooled.

"It looks like it's calming down," she said.

Nevertheless, local police in Durban reported a few flare-ups in the eastern city while Johannesburg police said several shacks in a slum area had been set alight overnight and a fight had broken out between locals and foreigners.

Cape Town police reported calm in their area after the first clashes in the southern coastal city on Thursday evening.

'Rainbow Nation'

During the last two weeks, anti-foreigner violence has been reported in seven of the country's provinces, seriously denting the reputation of the self-titled "Rainbow Nation".

The government made its first public apology on Friday for the attacks, which have resulted in thousands fleeing the country. Neighbouring Mozambique has declared a national disaster and is helping its expats return.

Mozambican state media reported on Saturday that about 15 000 Mozambicans had returned home.

"We are very much concerned and apologise for all the inconveniences that the incidents have caused," South Africa's Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Friday during a trip to Nigeria.

Foreigners in South Africa, many of whom have fled economic meltdown in neighbouring Zimbabwe, are being blamed for sky-high crime rates and depriving locals of jobs.

President Thabo Mbeki bowed to pressure to call in troops on Wednesday after a request from the police force, which has been overwhelmed by the unrest which began in a Johannesburg slum area nearly two weeks ago.

Some suggested the call to the military was an overreaction and raised fears about using troops who were untrained in crowd control.

The army said the fatal shooting had occurred at about 18:00 (1600 GMT) on Friday in the East Rand area, an outlying suburb of Johannesburg.

"A male was allegedly assaulting a woman. Our men confronted him and then he pointed a firearm at them," Mangope added.

Arrests

He said troops had deployed in support of police during search and seizure operations during which an unspecified number of arrests were made.

About 200 soldiers assisted police for the first time on Thursday with morning arrest and search operations in central Johannesburg and they deployed again on Friday, the army said.

Under apartheid, the army was frequently called upon to help police put down civil unrest by blacks in poor townships during protests against the country's racist white regime which often ended in bloodshed.

Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the South African government to ensure the perpetrators of anti-immigrant violence were brought to justice.

The New York-based human rights watchdog said urgent intervention was needed to encourage witnesses to provide evidence in the cases of over 500 people arrested in recent race violence.

"For justice to prevail, South Africa should protect these victims, whose testimony is crucial in bringing their attackers to justice," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at HRW.

Police and prosecutors said on Friday they were boosting operations to deal with the attacks and hoped to set up a dedicated court to deal with the large number of arrests.

- AFP