Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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Twenty people have been arrested in connection with the burning of shops belonging to foreign nationals in Mpumalanga. About nine shops belonging to Somali and Ethiopian nationals in Leslie township were looted and torched by a group of residents. Dozens of foreigners have sought refuge at the local police station. Police have attributed the attacks to criminal elements but have not ruled out the link to the ongoing xenophobic violence. Police spokesperson Sbongile Nkosi says they will monitor the situation overnight.
“We have deployed our members. We have deployed members from other cluster stations - Kwa-Mhlanga and Secunda - they are all here in Leslie … we are not sure if this incident will spread throughout the province,” says Nkosi.
Meanwhile, in Durban police have been deployed in Kenville, where xenophobic attacks have been reported. A SABC News team in the area reports that a lone man attacked a building housing about 15 Malawian nationals.
The attacker threw a petrol bomb into the building, setting it alight. Fire fighters are trying to extinguish the blaze. Some South Africans who stay in building were also affected. The latest incident follows an attack on foreigners in Dalton Road last night.
Source: SABC, May 21, 2008