South Africa to deploy army over xenophobic attacks

Police in the economic capital Johannesburg and in the port city of Durban have struggled to contain mobs who have targeted migrants from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and other African countries over the last three weeks. The government had vowed to crack down on the unrest, but the decision to put soldiers on the streets came after two nights of relative quiet in both cities. 

“We come in as the last resort, the army will serve as a deterrent. There are people who will be critical, but those who are vulnerable will appreciate this decision. Now we deploying because there is an emergency,” defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters, declining to give details on how many troops would be involved.

The spate of attacks has revived memories of xenophobic bloodshed in 2008, when 62 people were killed in Johannesburg’s townships, rattling South Africa’s post-apartheid image as a “rainbow nation” of different ethnic and cultural groups living in harmony. 

The South African army was deployed to restore order in the 2008 unrest, and has also been used against violent strikers in 2012 and 2014. Mapisa-Nqakula said troops were being sent to volatile areas in Johannesburg, and also to KwaZulu Natal province, of which Durban is the capital. 

In Johannesburg, the military presence will focus on the township of Alexandra, a poor neighbourhood recently roiled by xenophobic clashes, including a Mozambican man stabbed to death in broad daylight on Saturday. Graphic photographs of the killing were published by many South African and international newspapers and websites. 

“I think it has shaken everybody. South Africans now know...even those who probably did not take it seriously know that ... we need to stand up. This is not too late, this is just the right time,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Alexandra, where Nelson Mandela lived as a young man, is one of the most troubled parts of Johannesburg and is located next to the upmarket business district of Sandton. Immigrants are often the focus of resentment among poor South Africans, who face a chronic jobs shortage with the youth unemployment rate well over 50 percent. 

Regional relations have been strained by the unrest, with Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique organizing for some worried citizens to return home. Nearly 400 Malawians arrived overnight in the city of Blantyre in the south of the country, where they were met by government ministers and officials.