View noticesDurban erupts in anti-immigration violence as vehicles burn and shops are looted
Public order police were deployed as protesters broke into smaller groups.
At least 14 vehicles were torched, shops looted and infrastructure damaged in central Durban on Thursday as anti-immigration protests escalated into widespread violence, bringing parts of the city to a standstill.
The violence followed demonstrations outside the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road, where protesters demanded tougher enforcement of immigration laws, Thabiso Goba reported for EWN.
Police advised hundreds of foreign nationals waiting to submit asylum applications to leave the premises for their own safety after demonstrators gathered outside the centre. The protests, involving members of March and March and Insizwa Nobunsizwa, subsequently spread into the central business district, where vehicles were overturned and set alight.
The Witness reported that the unrest was concentrated around West Street and Brook Street, with additional reports of looting in the South Beach area. Photographer Rajesh Jantilal, reporting from the scene, described extensive damage, burning vehicles and thick smoke engulfing parts of the city.
According to TimesLIVE, public order police were deployed as protesters broke into smaller groups, some of which allegedly looted shops and damaged businesses. Police and private security personnel cordoned off sections of Dr Pixley KaSeme Street and Brook Street.
Reuters reported that the Durban violence coincided with anti-immigration protests in Soweto, Johannesburg, where confrontations between residents and foreign shop owners were accompanied by reports of gunfire and vehicles being set alight.
The protests followed a Constitutional Court ruling removing procedural barriers that had prevented certain foreign nationals from applying for asylum, including those who entered South Africa irregularly or missed prescribed application deadlines.
The government's Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration acknowledged on Thursday that refugee reception offices had been overwhelmed by the number of applicants following implementation of the ruling.
According to Associated Press, the committee undertook to expand processing capacity, accelerate decisions and strengthen identity checks. It emphasised that the court ruling allowed applicants to have their claims assessed but did not automatically confer refugee status or permanent residence.
Reports of a protester allegedly being shot and killed circulated during the Durban disturbances. However, The Witness said the circumstances of the alleged shooting and whether a death had occurred could not be independently confirmed.
By late Thursday afternoon, tensions in Durban had begun to ease, although EWN reported that attempts to break into closed shops continued as protesters dispersed.
The violence follows months of anti-immigration demonstrations across South Africa, reflecting growing tensions over migration, unemployment and access to public services.
Sources: Eyewitness News, The Witness, TimesLIVE; Reuters, Associated Press, and Mail & Guardian.