Antimigrant protests turn violent in Durban and Soweto

Antimigrant protests in two South African cities turned violent on Thursday, with vehicles torched, foreign owned shops looted and gunshots fired.

In the coastal city of Durban, the unrest followed a protest by a group demanding that a refugee center stop processing asylum applications. About 10 vehicles were overturned and set alight, according to News24, and shops owned by foreign nationals were looted. Police later said at least 14 vehicles had been set alight and a guest house and warehouse were partially burned. A Reuters reporter saw five torched cars in the city center.

In Johannesburg's Soweto township, residents clashed with foreign shop owners and gunshots were heard, broadcaster Newzroom Afrika reported. A Reuters reporter watched residents carry groceries out of a shop they said was owned by a Somali man they had chased away. Police said 10 vehicles were burned in Soweto and the situation was brought under control.

The government blamed disinformation. Spokesman William Baloyi said the violence was triggered by people deliberately misrepresenting a July constitutional court ruling that asylum seekers cannot be denied access to the asylum system purely for procedural reasons. The ruling did not grant refugee status or residence to undocumented migrants, he said, but it has been widely misrepresented.

South Africa has seen months of antimigrant marches this year that have drawn international criticism. Some have descended into violence and looting, and thousands of African foreign nationals have fled the country. The anger feeds on claims that migrants take jobs, fuel crime and strain public services, claims social scientists say the evidence does not support. Three decades after apartheid ended, the country remains deeply unequal, with about a third of the workforce out of work, even as it remains Africa's largest economy and a magnet for migrants.

A top police official, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, promised that those responsible for the violence would be identified and arrested. President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the violence while acknowledging public concerns about illegal immigration.