DURBAN – A mob of about 50 people beat a foreign national to death in the port city of Durban on Thursday, police said.

The attack happened in the city centre, on the sidelines of a march. Police could not say what the demonstration was about.

Attack during march

Two men from the group approached another man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, who was on the side of the road.

“It is further alleged that the victim was then assaulted by a group of about 50 people and he was declared dead at the scene,” a police statement said.

The man’s nationality and the motive for the attack were unknown.

Drivers who work for app-based taxi services, known as e-hailing, had marched in the same area on Wednesday. Their protest was part of the March and March movement, which has organised protests against illegal migrants across the country for months.

History of unrest

Durban has been a flashpoint for anti-migrant sentiment. The city has seen months of protests against foreign nationals, with looting and violence breaking out after an anti-migrant march two weeks ago.

Soldiers were sent to central Durban at that time as police battled to control two days of rioting and looting targeted at foreign nationals.

Fourteen vehicles were set alight and businesses were looted or torched.

The violence echoed weeks of protests earlier this year that led tens of thousands of nationals from other African countries to flee.

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