DURBAN, South Africa — Refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa said Monday they fear fresh violence as an unofficial Sept. 30 deadline set by the anti-immigration movement March and March approaches, Al Jazeera reported from Durban.
The group has staged protests demanding undocumented foreigners leave and has no legal power to deport anyone; the government says citizens cannot enforce immigration law. Congolese refugee Bishop Raphael Bahebwa told Al Jazeera he was in hiding after threats for speaking up. Hundreds who slept for months outside Durban’s Refugee Reception Centre were cleared in mid-September—274 bused to the Lindela detention facility in Gauteng, about 150 left seeking other shelter—after earlier clashes with March and March protesters injured at least four on Sept. 3.
Authorities say they processed 86,596 foreign nationals for deportation or repatriation between mid-June and Aug. 20, mostly Malawians, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, while warning private groups against vigilante enforcement. Local elections are Nov. 4, with migration a sharp campaign issue; refugees recalled deadly xenophobic waves in 2008 and 2015.
Sources: Al Jazeera
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