South Africa police evicts protesting refugees

By Hassan Isilow

PRETORIA (AA) - Police in South Africa used stun grenades and water cannons on Wednesday to disperse a group of refugees camping outside the UN Refugee Agency building in Cape Town, local media reported.

The refugees, demanding their relocation to another country, have been camping outside the UNHCR office for about a month, following a series of recent anti-immigrant attacks in South Africa which claimed 12 lives.

Several videos broadcast on local televisions and posted online showed violent scenes of police clashing with the refugees who had refused to leave the vicinity of a building housing UNHCR offices.

The refugees said they no longer felt safe living in South Africa and were appealing to the UN to move them to another country.

“We were surprised the police arrived this morning and started to shoot and beat foreigners [protesting refugees]. We didn’t break anything here. What wrong did we do to fight for our rights,” a refugee from Democratic Republic of Congo told local broadcaster Enca.

Police spokesperson Brig Novela Potelwa told reporters police went to scene to help the sheriff execute a court order to evict the refugees and asylum seekers.

The police said they have arrested about 100 protesters during the clash.

According to sources, there were about 300 refugees and asylum seekers who had camped at the UN offices in Cape Town.

- Xenophobia

Last month, angry mobs in South Africa looted several migrant-owned shops in parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria, accusing foreigners of committing crimes and occupying jobs meant for locals by accepting low wages.

They also accuse migrants of unfair competition practices in the retail business, for which they seek a ban on ownership by foreigners.

The dispersed protesters had claimed they face difficulty renewing their documents at refugee centers across the country. They also accused officials of harassing them and forcing them to pay bribes.

South Africa is home to tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers from mostly African countries.

As the continent's most industrialized country, it has also attracted migrants seeking better economic prospects in the country faced with high unemployment and crime.