DURBAN – South African police on Thursday relocated approximately 400 foreign nationals from a church centre in Durban where they had sought refuge from anti-migrant groups in a days-long standoff.

The migrants, from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Somalia, were transported by bus to a government refugee centre in the east coast city. Among those relocated were women and children.

Local anti-immigrant campaigners gathered outside the complex, chanting “They must go!” as the buses departed. Some migrants pressed identity documents against bus windows to demonstrate they held proper documentation to reside in South Africa.

Several migrants told AFP they had fled their homes after anti-immigrant locals went door-to-door instructing undocumented foreigners to leave by 30 June. The ultimatum carries no legal authority and is not supported by government officials.

The evacuation saw minor scuffles, including one incident where a man broke free and was chased by locals before police intervened.

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a prominent anti-immigrant activist, told reporters that her group, March and March, opposed violence but wanted all undocumented foreign nationals to leave. The group attributes social problems such as high unemployment and crime to migrants, though analysts describe this as scapegoating.

Ghana announced Thursday it plans to evacuate more than 800 of its citizens from South Africa following a viral video showing the alleged assault of a Ghanaian man.

South Africa has experienced recurring xenophobic violence since 2008, when dozens of migrants were killed and thousands displaced. Similar incidents occurred in 2015 and 2021, often fuelled by economic frustrations and political rhetoric targeting immigrants.

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The current tensions emerge as political parties campaign for support ahead of local government elections scheduled in six months.

Robert Ikobia, one of the migrants at the Durban centre, told AFP he left the DRC when he was 12 years old to escape war.

“I have the papers to be here. But every time there has been a xenophobic upheaval, I have been a victim,” he said.

“In 2012 I was shot in the head and nearly died. A few years later, I was stabbed by a mob. I fled a war in my country, yet I cannot find peace in South Africa.”

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