For this reason, five countries are urging their citizens in South Africa to stay home.
A wave of protests against illegal immigration is accompanied by acts of violence against migrants.
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Five African countries, including Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, warned migrants in South Africa to be cautious and stay indoors due to attacks targeting foreigners, while Ghana pressured... African Union To take action in this regard.
South Africa, which has the largest economy on the continent, has seen a wave of protests against illegal immigration, accompanied by violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries in South Africa.
Migrant rights groups say migrants are being scapegoated by South Africans, who blame them for the country's economic problems, specifically the high unemployment rate of over 30%, which disproportionately affects the population.
Nigeria repatriates 130 citizens from South Africa after the death of two of its nationals.
Ghana announced on Wednesday that it had facilitated the safe return of a citizen after he appeared in a widely circulated video depicting an assault, while saying Nigeria It is also working to repatriate at least 130 citizens following the deaths of two Nigerians.
According to Reuters, Ghana's statement did not specify the incident it referred to, but a video circulating on social media showed a Ghanaian man being harassed by South African citizens who demanded to see his identification papers and then questioned their validity, saying, "We don't want you here.".
Mozambique calls on South Africa to de-escalate tensions.
Mozambican President Daniel Chapecoense met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday and called for calm, while the Ghanaian government asked the African Union to address the issue.
Other countries have issued their warnings in statements directed to their citizens.
Xenophobic attacks in South Africa have escalated rapidly, with the armed group Operation Dodola leading campaigns against illegal immigrants, including sometimes preventing them from entering public health facilities.
South African government sympathy with the people
The government condemned the violence, while expressing its sympathy for its citizens' frustration with illegal immigration and illegal entry into the country.
In a statement issued by the Cabinet on Thursday, it said that South Africans have the right to protest against the growing challenges of illegal immigration, but violence associated with those protests is unacceptable, and law enforcement agencies must deal with those inciting such violence.
The number of immigrants in South Africa has risen steadily over the past few decades, increasing from 2% of the total population in 1996 to 4% in 2022, according to a report by the national statistics agency, while the report indicated that most of them are from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
