Thousands marched in cities across South Africa Tuesday to demand the removal of undocumented foreign nationals, following a weekslong campaign that has left four people dead and forced thousands to flee.
The nationwide protests capped growing demonstrations called by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups that set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without papers to leave.
A few thousand South Africans took to the streets in the centre of the financial capital, Johannesburg, where most shops stayed shuttered, workers stayed home, and transport hubs were quiet.
They marched behind organizers, waving flags and placards and were watched by police in bulletproof jackets and riot helmets.
In the southeastern city of Durban, the Zulu heartland, protesters turned out in traditional warrior attire, carrying spears, whips and shields and some draped in leopard skins.
