Hundreds of foreign nationals have sought refuge in community halls along South Africa’s south coast, saying they fled their homes after mobs went door to door demanding that foreigners leave the country.
Mostly nationals of Malawi and Mozambique, many told AFP they had fled their homes at the weekend and spent nights in the mountains and bush, before making their way to the small-town community centers.
"They said 'you are a foreigner, you don't belong in South Africa, so you must go,'" Mozambican Thomas Vincent Baloyi told AFP in Gansbaai, around 110 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of Cape Town.
"I said, 'no, I got documents to be here in South Africa.' They didn't want to know," said Baloyi, who has been in the country for nearly 16 years, working in construction and gardening.
"They just chased us away like dogs ... that is unfair because, actually, I'm a human being," the 32-year-old said. "We just stayed in the bush until six in the morning."
