Fresh xenophobic attacks reported in S. Africa

Foreign shops were looted on Sunday in an informal settlement near Natalspruit in eastern Johannesburg following the deaths of two local residents, police said.

The looting took place after local residents were chasing away foreign nationals in retaliation for the killing of two local residents, allegedly by a Pakistani national earlier this week, according to police.

The Pakistani national shot and killed a woman and a child following a brawl, a police source said.

The killing angered the local residents who retaliated by chasing foreigners away and looted their shops, the source said.

The situation was tense and police have sent reinforcements to the area, a witness said.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse angry crowds, said the witness who refused to be named.

Foreign nationals reportedly are collecting illegal fire arms so they can protect themselves from criminals.

The incident was reminicent of the xenophobic attacks in April last year, in which several people were killed and thousands of foreigners were displaced. Endit