JOHANNESBURG/MAPUTO, June 2 (Reuters) – Mozambique said five of its citizens died in anti-immigration violence in the South African town of Mossel Bay over the weekend in the latest flare-up of xenophobic attacks.
South African police said on Tuesday that the bodies of two Mozambican men were found on Saturday morning with assault injuries, and that a South African teenager was also found dead with stab wounds in a separate incident on Sunday.
Xenophobic attacks are a recurring issue in South Africa, where immigrants are often blamed for economic problems such as high unemployment.
Police did not apportion blame for the violence in Mossel Bay, in the Western Cape province, but said it started on Friday when about 55 shacks were set on fire in an informal settlement.
“Police deployments remain on high alert in the area in efforts to restore calm and order,” the police statement said, adding that no arrests had yet been made for the murders.
In a statement late on Monday, Mozambique said five nationals died “as a direct result of xenophobic attacks” along with another two in a road accident while travelling back to their home country.
Anti-immigrant groups in South Africa have set a deadline of June 30 for all foreigners in the country illegally to leave, spreading fear among immigrant communities.
Ghana repatriated hundreds of citizens last week.
Mozambique said 300 Mozambicans had returned home by their own means on Saturday and that an additional 500 were going to be repatriated from Monday.
“Given the volatility … a worsening of the current situation is expected,” Mozambique’s government said.
South Africa has the biggest economy on the continent and is a destination for people from neighbouring countries seeking work. It also hosts refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflict in countries like Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We must never give in to violence, xenophobia or vigilantism,” South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament on Tuesday, while also emphasizing that the government was cracking down on illegal immigration.
(Reporting by Nellie Peyton and Nilutpal Timsina in Johannesburg and Custodio Cossa in Maputo; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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