24 vehicles torched, foreign shops looted as South Africa anti-migrant protests turn violent

At least 24 vehicles have been set ablaze and foreign-owned shops looted in South Africa as anti-immigration protests descended into violence in two major cities, police say.

Unrest broke out on Thursday in Soweto, a sprawling township outside Johannesburg, and Durban, a major port on the east coast.

BBC reports that Police said 14 vehicles were torched in Durban and 10 in Soweto, where gunshots were also reported during confrontations between residents and foreign shopkeepers.

The violence comes amid growing anger over a Constitutional Court ruling in July which struck down restrictions preventing some people from seeking asylum because of how they entered the country or missed immigration deadlines.

The judgment means asylum seekers must be allowed to submit applications even if they entered South Africa without the required documents, prompting long queues outside refugee reception centres.

The Department of Home Affairs said on Friday it would change the way it complies with the ruling, without giving details, saying current policy had seen its staff “overwhelmed” while “serious threats to public safety and order had emerged.”

The department said the new policy would still abide by the Constitutional Court ruling.

In Durban, protesters gathered outside a government refugee reception centre demanding that it stop accepting asylum applications.

Police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds as businesses in the city centre shut their doors.

“There were clashes between foreign nationals in the area and South African nationals,” senior local police officer Xolani Fihla told state broadcaster SABC. “At the present moment, I can confirm that no injuries have been reported.”

Police said Thursday’s demonstration turned violent following allegations that a foreign national had assaulted one of the protesters in Durban, with three foreign nationals arrested in connection with the alleged assault.

In Orlando West, a neighbourhood of Soweto, residents initially gathered to demand the closure of small convenience stores, known locally as spaza shops, operated by foreign nationals.

Protesters forced foreign traders out of some areas, while shops were attacked and a building was set on fire, local media reported.

Acting national police commissioner Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane condemned the destruction of property, with police saying reinforcements had been deployed to prevent further violence.

Government spokesman William Baloyi said people had deliberately spread false claims about the judgment, creating the impression that undocumented migrants would automatically be granted legal status.

Baloyi said the ruling did not automatically give migrants refugee status or the right to remain permanently in South Africa, noting applications will still be assessed individually and applicants remain subject to immigration checks.

South Africa has experienced repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence, often targeting migrants from neighbouring countries, with more than 60 people killed and tens of thousands displaced in 2008.

The latest unrest comes against a backdrop of widespread poverty, deep inequality and unemployment affecting roughly a third of the workforce, and follows weeks of demonstrations earlier this year demanding undocumented foreign nationals leave the country by June 30.

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