S. African cabinet pledges to protect foreigners

The South African cabinet on Thursday pledged to protect foreigners amid new resurgence of xenophobia in parts of the country.

The law enforcement agencies will continue to have a strong presence in affected areas, and that perpetrators will face the full might of the law, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said at a press briefing in Cape Town after a fortnightly cabinet meeting.

Xenophobia violence erupted again recently in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg and some other parts of the country. In the violence, a number of foreigners were attacked and their shops looted.

This followed a wave of xenophobia violence in January in which refugees and foreign nationals were forced to flee their homes and abandon livelihoods after their shops were looted and destroyed.

"Cabinet remains concerned about the attacks of foreign nationals," Radebe said.

"Violence against foreign nationals is being addressed decisively through various existing government structures," he said.

Early this month, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) voiced deep concern by the resurgence of xenophobic violence in the country.

"We once again call on Government and urge law enforcement agencies to maintain their presence in these volatile areas and to protect refugees and foreign nationals," said Clementine Nkweta- Salami, UNHCR's Regional Representative for Southern Africa.

UNHCR commends the response made by the South African authorities and the South African Police Services to try to contain the violence and looting and encourages them to continue with their efforts to restore peace in the affected areas, Nkweta- Salami said.

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

South Africa's neighbors 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. Endi