JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Anti-migrant protests turned violent in South Africa on Thursday, with mobs torching vehicles, looting foreign-owned businesses, and exchanging gunfire in both the coastal hub of Durban and Johannesburg's iconic Soweto township, according to local authorities and police.
The fresh wave of unrest marks a sharp escalation in months-long anti-immigrant demonstrations that have drawn widespread international scrutiny over xenophobic violence in Africa's most industrialized economy.
In downtown Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, a chaotic rally demanding the immediate closure of a local refugee processing center descended into rioting. Fire crews reported at least seven vehicles set ablaze along Dr Pixley KaSeme Street and Park Lane, while crowds vandalized and looted nearby shops belonging to foreign nationals.
Police intervened with riot units to disperse the crowd and safely evacuate asylum seekers trapped inside the facility.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda said tensions erupted after a South African protester was allegedly assaulted by a foreign national, leaving the victim with a severe leg fracture.
"Unplanned marches create volatile situations like this," Netshiunda told reporters, confirming that three foreign nationals were arrested over the assault. He added that a lodge and a warehouse were partially destroyed by arson before emergency crews contained the blazes, and heavy police patrols remain deployed.
Meanwhile, in Soweto, South Africa's largest township, nine vehicles were torched outside the Department of Home Affairs office following intense violent clashes between local residents and foreign traders.
Xolani Fihla, spokesperson for the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed officers are investigating reports that live ammunition was fired at local demonstrators. While no casualties were reported in Soweto, police cautioned that the atmosphere remains highly explosive.
Tensions have been stoked in part by vigilante grassroots groups, such as Operation Dudula, which have mobilized local youth to forcibly close foreign-owned corner shops, known locally as spaza shops, and demand the deportation of undocumented migrants.
Socioeconomic analysts attribute the recurring waves of xenophobic turmoil to South Africa's staggering unemployment rate, which sits above 32 percent, and widespread poverty. Foreign nationals, largely hailing from other African countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria, are frequently scapegoated by local communities for straining township housing, public healthcare, and informal retail sectors.
The latest flare-up follows a landmark Constitutional Court ruling that mandated the Department of Home Affairs to process asylum applications from all foreign arrivals, regardless of whether they entered the country legally. A subsequent Sept. 28 official circular directing local refugee centers to implement the court mandate sparked intense public anger among anti-migrant groups.
Addressing the civil turbulence, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, emphasized that the judiciary's decision "must not be interpreted as legalising unlawful migration," as the government seeks to balance constitutional human rights obligations with border control concerns.
Xenophobic outbreaks have historically strained Pretoria's diplomatic ties with regional allies across the African Union, while threatening regional trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area. ■