Violence exploded in Port Elizabeth Thursday as members of the native Xhosa community rampaged through immigrant areas. The main target was the Somali community. Xhosa leaders say the Somalians send money back to Somalia, which contributes to the further impoverishment of the area. The riots started after a Somali immigrant killed two Zimbabwean immigrants. The Zimbabweans were allegedly robbing him. Media outlets in Africa are reporting that “at least one Somalian” was killed. One Somalian was killed by being shot or stabbed. There are allegations that another Somalian was beaten by a mob and died when a teenage boy smashed a large rock over him. The riots ended when the local police massed and used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. This was the second anti-immigrant riot in two weeks. Last week there were anti-immigrant riots in Johannesburg. Much of the rest of Africa still views South Africa as better off, but South Africans see immigrants as speeding up their own decline. There has also been politically motivated violence against Zimbabweans by ANC hardliners for years. Most of the immigrants are illegal aliens. In 2012 the South African government began the re-militarization of its border to stop illegal crossings.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:51:53 +0000
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