A demonstrator speaks through a mega phone as others gather during a protest march by members of the Tsonga and Shangaan communities calling for their recognition as South Africans while protesting against xenophobia and tribalism, en route to the South African Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg on June 26, 2026. Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP
Armoured vehicles carried around 20 soldiers through a rundown area outside South Africa’s normally calm seaside town of Jeffreys Bay, backing up police after an explosion of anti-migrant violence.
Shots were fired during the unrest at Ocean View last week, and three people were wounded as the world-renowned surfing mecca became a new battleground in a nationwide xenophobic movement that has claimed several lives.
Twenty-three small convenience stores run by foreign shopkeepers—a particular target for the campaign that accuses migrants of taking jobs from locals—were looted.
“I could have died,” said Zelalem Tesfaye, a 28-year-old Ethiopian, recalling how he escaped through a small back window as looters descended on his shop.
