PRETORIA: South African police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to break up clashes between local protesters and immigrants in Pretoria on Friday at a march against foreigners.

Shops and homes owned by migrants have been looted and torched over the last two weeks, with some South Africans alleging that the properties were brothels and drug dens.

Attacks against foreigners in the country have erupted regularly in recent years, fuelled by high unemployment and dire poverty.

Riot police in Pretoria formed lines to keep apart about 1,000 protesters as tensions rise over migrants from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Pakistan and elsewhere.

“We support the police,” South African marcher Aysha Ali, 25, said. “Nigerians are very bad, they are bringing drugs into our community. I support the protest.” As police struggled to impose control, Mohammed Abdi, 31, from Somalia, said: “We are looking for peace. People say we foreigners are here to sell drugs? They can search our shops.”

Some officers shot rubber rounds at close range at protesters lying on the ground, and police used water cannon against demonstrators who wielded rocks and machetes.

President Jacob Zuma condemned the latest wave of xenophobic unrest, saying that there had been “destruction of property directed at non-nationals”. “Residents in some communities blame non-nationals for the escalating crimes especially drug trafficking,” the presidency said in a statement on Friday.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2017