UNHCR voices concern over attacks on foreigners in South Africa

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Sunday voiced concern over recent attacks on foreigners in South Africa. "UNHCR is extremely concerned over the recent spate of violence in Gauteng and Eastern Cape Provinces affecting foreigners, including refugees and asylum-seekers," the agency said in a statement emailed to Xinhua. Since last week, foreign-owned shops were attacked in several locations in Sebokeng, Evaton, Orange Farm and Lakeside townships in Gauteng Province. According to the information received, the attacks started off during service delivery protests which then transformed into attacks on foreign-owned shops. In Diepsloot township in northern Johannesburg, violence and looting began last Sunday evening after a Somali man allegedly shot and killed two Zimbabweans following a dispute. Foreign-owned shops were the prime targets though other local shops were also looted. In Port Elizabeth, the Eastern Cape Province, about 20 foreign owned shops were also looted during the same period. The police, however, managed to contain the violence. The UNHCR said it was working closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to try to prevent more violence. The attacks drew condemnation from the South African government and the ruling African National Congress (ANC). The government said it would not tolerate "criminal activities against each other" as such acts would impact negatively on the country's economy and image. The UNHCR said it has taken note of the statements and appreciates the efforts made by the City of Johannesburg, and the SAPS to restore order and provide safety to the victims. "While we appreciate the efforts made so far, UNHCR is calling on the Government to do all it can to prevent any future incidents, " said UNHCR's Regional Representative for Southern Africa, Clementine Nkweta-Salami. Xenophobia attacks are not uncommon in South Africa. On average, one person was killed in xenophobia violence every week in 2011, according to the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) attributes xenophobia to the apartheid regime's deliberate strategy to destroy the economic infrastructure of South Africa's neighboring countries and support counter-revolutionary movements in order to destabilize them. "As a result some of these countries today still face huge problems of underdevelopment and poverty and there has been a constant stream of economic refugees into South Africa, looking for work and an escape from poverty," COSATU said in response to the recent xenophobia attacks. These economic refuges compete with the millions of unemployed South Africans for too few jobs, the national union federation said.