Xenophobic Violence Allegedly Breaks Out In Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, 1 Person Killed Amid Clashes

• Alleged violent confrontations erupted in Pietermaritzburg CBD after a foreign national reportedly clashed with a taxi owner
• The incident sparked further clashes between an unknown group and foreign nationals operating as informal traders
• At least one person, a shop owner, was killed during the chaos before police arrived at the scene to quell further unrest

PIETERMARITZBURG - An alleged xenophobic outbreak in Pietermaritzburg's central business district forced several shops to shut down along the busy Church Street on Wednesday.

According to News24, police arrived at the scene to quell the unrest after one person was killed during an alleged criminal incident involving a foreign national and a taxi owner before further confrontations between an unknown group and informal traders believed to be migrants erupted.

Although the details remain sketchy, Briefly News has it on good authority that the group, comprising men, gathered and began attacking a shop owner before the violence escalated, causing the death of at least one person.

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"The group burnt goods belonging to the shop owner and proceeded to attack him. Someone then [pointed a gun] at him and shot him. Later, the ambulance arrived, and the man was taken to the hospital," said a source.

Operation Dudula in full swing

The purported xenophobic outbreak comes after protests linked to Operation Dudula and the Dudula Movement calling for foreign nationals to leave South Africa were staged in Alexandra township in Johannesburg and Daveyton in Ekurhuleni, SowetanLIVE reported.

Last week, tensions ran high in Alex amid clashes between members of the movement and foreign-owned shop owners, leading to a heavy police presence near the Pan Africa Mall after the group went in search of illegal migrant workers.

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Elsewhere, Briefly News previously reported that Operation Dudula swept across Alexandra, where police kept a high presence after a stand-off between the movement's members and foreign shop owners on Tuesday, 8 March.

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TimesLIVE reported that some businesses located in and around a section of the area closed their doors as the group went in search of migrant employees and shop owners who did not possess valid documentation.

Members of the local community and several spaza shop owners expressed concerns for their safety, stock and money. A Bangladeshi national, Rumon Miah, was among the many who lamented losing out on business due to the influx of the Dudula ("push back") Movement members in the area.

Source: Briefly News