Durban Descends into Chaos as Foreign Nationals Assaulted in the Streets
- The streets of Durban erupted in violence as a group of men attacked foreign nationals
- Two men ended up in the hospital after the attack and three stalls were looted and burned to the ground
- The police moved in and restored order but no arrests have been made at this point
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Chaos erupted on the streets of Durban as citizens took their frustrations out on foreign nationals trading in the city.
Three street vendors' goods were looted and torched with two men needing to be hospitalised with life-threatening injuries.
It is unclear what sparked the unrest but a group of men attacked street vendors. The police have not made any arrests at this time.
Source: Twitter
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naiker said that the police had deployed unites to stabilise the area and keep the situation under control.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that the community of foreign nationals living in Durban have once again been targeted with attacks.
Shops belonging to foreigners in the Durban CBD were looted and even set alight in some cases, prompting all other foreign-owned shops to close in a bid to avoid the violence.
Commenting on the situation, Police spokesperson Parboo Sewperad explained that:
"There were groups of people in the CBD that were visiting shops, and they were visiting shops with flammable liquids, and torching some of the shops. Subsequently two shops have been torched, and a table belonging to a vendor next to a shop, was also torched."
In other news, a report has detailed how the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association shut down businesses owned by foreign nationals in November.
The group insists that businesses near The Workshop shopping centre should allow citizens to occupy the busy area.
The association 'removed' foreign nationals who sold merchandise that 'does not bring value to this country'.
TimesLIVE reports that Zibuse Cele made it clear that the group only wants South African traders in the lucrative area:
"People who will sell traditional pieces like ubuhlalu [beads] things of Zulu heritage, because we do not want people to forget their customs."
This isn't the first time the MKMVA has taken a tough stance against foreign nationals in the country.
SowetanLIVE reports that the group had called for refugee camps to be established for foreigners until 'all illegal immigrants are deported.
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Source: Briefly News
