Thousands displaced by anti-foreigner attacks in Western Cape

Nov 18, 2009, 13:04 GMT

Johannesburg - In scenes reminiscent of last year's deadly campaign of xenophobic violence, residents of a South African informal settlement this week attacked migrants living in their midst, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.

Around 3,000 mostly Zimbabwean migrants were sheltering Wednesday in a municipal building in the small town of De Doorns, 150 kilometres from Cape Town, after being attacked by mobs who accused them of taking their jobs.

No-one was reported injured in the rioting, which police quelled using rubber bullets.

De Doorns is situated in Hex River Valley, a wine- and citrus- growing region where most depend on seasonal work on farms for a living.

Witnesses told the Cape Times newspaper the trouble began on Saturday when residents of a squatter camp began stoning shacks belonging to Zimbabweans.

The situation escalated on Tuesday with migrant workers reportedly being pulled off trucks that transport workers to the farms.

The residents accuse Zimbabweans of working for less than the going rate. Farmers in the area deny that they pay Zimbabweans less than South Africans.

South Africa is home to an estimated 2 million mostly illegal Zimbabwean migrants, who were forced by their country's economic collapse over the past decade to seek work south of the border.

A large number of Mozambicans, Malawians and nationals of other surrounding poorer countries have also jumped the border into South Africa since the end of apartheid in the early 1990s.

Many South Africans say their arrival has increased competition for low-paid jobs and low-cost housing.

In June last year, at least 62 people were killed in a wave of xenophobic attacks, which forced tens of thousands of migrants from their homes.