Tens of thousands of March and March supporters took to the streets in Durban on June 30, demanding that illegal immigrants leave the country. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/ANA Studio
Durban - Tens of Thousands of people marched on Tuesday to mark a deadline they had set for undocumented migrants to leave. Some protests were hit by violence and looting in cities across South Africa after a weeks-long campaign that has sent thousands fleeing and claimed four lives.
Police were out in force for the nationwide protests, which capped a campaign of demonstrations led by citizen-led vigilante groups that set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without papers to leave.
There were isolated reports of looting, stone-throwing and confrontation, including near Johannesburg, where security forces escorted a handful of foreign nationals away from a mob brandishing large sticks. In Soweto, protesters looted shacks of foreign nationals.
Crowds of demonstrators moved through the centre of the city, where most shops were shuttered, workers stayed home, and transport hubs were quiet.
