Fresh xenophobic violence

2009-01-06 14:58

Durban - Six months after violent xenophobic clashes in South Africa, renewed tensions between locals and foreigners were reported in Durban on Tuesday.

At least one person was killed and two seriously injured, The Mercury newspaper reported.

Heavily-armed police were called in to intervene in a hostile confrontation involving locals and foreigners from other parts of Africa living in the area, the report said.

On Sunday, around two dozen people carrying machetes and other weapons stormed apartment buildings inhabited by foreigners, forcing several to flee by jumping out of windows.

A Malawian man died after jumping from the sixth storey while two others sustained serious injuries.

Other attacks

Politicians from the area said at least two similar attacks on foreigners took place on the weekend.

A shop owner said that every night over the past three days, armed groups had been threatening foreigners in his neighbourhood.

The Mercury showed images of armed men and women marching into a building, under a report headlined, "Mob forces men to jump".

At least 60 people were killed and about 100 000 displaced in a strong wave of xenophobic violence throughout South Africa in May.

Most the refugee camps that were established at the time, have been closed and foreigners deported, or forced to reintegrate. - Sapa-dpa

- DPA