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South Africa police arrest 68 people for suspected involvement in violence

Xinhua, January 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

South African police have arrested 68 people for suspected involvement in acts of violence in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg where Xenophobia-related violence has claimed two lives in the new round of attacks on foreign-owned shops, authorities said.

Earlier this week, a 14-year-old boy was shot dead by a foreign shop owner, allegedly for trying to break into the shop.

Local residents went on a looting spree in several areas in Soweto, a black township where most of the shops are owned by foreigners.

A large contingent of police was dispatched to Soweto, where many foreigners took up arms to defend themselves.

But Police spokesperson Kay Makhubela said the situation was under control.

The spate of xenophobia-related violence drew condemnation from the Congress of South Trade Unions (COSATU).

"There can be absolutely no excuse for any of the assaults and killings or the looting of foreign-owned shops which have been taking place, regardless of the fact that it was allegedly sparked off by the killing of a 14-year-old boy, and another man, with unlicensed firearms," COSATU national spokesperson Patrick Craven said.

He called the attacks "pure criminality" and urged police to take action, "but in an even-handed way, treating all people equally".

The violence also highlights the scandal of the unregulated proliferation of unlicensed guns, Craven said.

Soweto is a hot bed of attacks on foreign-owned shops. Several places like Eastern Cape Province have also witnessed spates of violence directed against foreigners, including refugees and asylum-seekers, particularly Somalis whose shops are often attacked and looted.

Xenophobia is deeply rooted in South Africa, where foreigners are blamed for taking up jobs that would have been taken up by locals.

COSATU attributes xenophobia to the apartheid regime's deliberate strategy to destroy the economic infrastructure of South Africa's neighboring countries and support counter- revolutionary movements in order to destabilize them.

"As a result some of these countries today still face huge problems of underdevelopment and poverty and there has been a constant stream of economic refugees into South Africa, looking for work and an escape from poverty," COSATU says. Endi