South Africa withdraws asylum directive after xenophobic clashes
The South African government has withdrawn a directive on processing asylum applications following xenophobic clashes between foreign nationals and anti-immigration protesters that left vehicles burnt and foreign-owned…
South Africa has long grappled with tensions between its large population of migrants and refugees — many from other African countries, including Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ethiopia — and segments of the local population who accuse foreign nationals of taking jobs, housing and business opportunities. Groups such as Operation Dudula have organised anti-immigrant protests in recent years, and such tensions have periodically erupted into violence, including deadly xenophobic attacks on foreign-owned shops and residents in 2008 and 2019.
In this instance, the Department of Home Affairs' move to process a backlog or batch of asylum applications appears to have become a flashpoint, triggering protests and clashes between foreign nationals and anti-immigration demonstrators in Johannesburg and Durban that reportedly left vehicles burnt. The reporting across outlets agrees on the withdrawal of the directive and the cities affected, but details on the scale of casualties, the number of applications involved, and the government's next steps on asylum policy have not yet been reported.