Xenophobic Attack On Shops Owned By Other Africans Continue In South Africa

Despite the global outcry over the recent Xenophobic attacks in South Africa on African migrants, Eastern Johannesburg yesterday night into the early hours of this morning recorded fresh attacks on shops owned by foreigners while a car and a building believed to be owned by a foreigner was set ablaze.

200 foreigners had to run to the Gauteng province Police station where they are now taking refuge. 12 of the South Africans who carried out the attack have been arrested and according to the police, they will be charged to court. Meanwhile most shops owned by foreigners are still under lock and key as they wait for the South African government to bring the situation under control.

'Shocking'
A crowd began looting foreign-owned shops in east Johannesburg on Thursday night, and a car, and a building believed to house foreigners, were set on fire.

Eyewitness Raphael Nkomo told the BBC: "A group of men were dropped from a minibus. All of them were armed with [knives]. They started chasing people, throwing stones at them, hitting them... what I saw was very, very terrifying."

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the looters. Correspondents say no serious injuries have been reported.

How many foreign nationals are there?
Official data suggests about two million foreign nationals are in South Africa - about 4% of the total population. However, other estimates put the number of immigrants at five million.

In Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, about 7% of the population are thought to be non-citizens.

In 2012, Zimbabweans received the largest number of temporary residence permits (17%), followed by nationals from Nigeria, India, China, Pakistan and the UK.

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