South African police detained more than 900 people on Wednesday after a wave of anti-migrant protests swept the country on Tuesday, officials said.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili said 120 marches took place. Of those, 108 were peaceful while 12 needed police intervention. Arrests were made for offenses including immigration violations, public violence, harboring undocumented migrants, and robbery.
Violence broke out in several areas. In Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, one person was shot dead late Tuesday during looting of spaza shops owned by foreign nationals. Police also sent soldiers to the Hillbrow area of central Johannesburg after two people were injured in a separate shooting.
In Durban, authorities opened an inquest after a foreign national allegedly jumped from an eighth-floor building on the eve of the protests, fearing he was being targeted.
The marches marked an unofficial “deadline” set by an anti-immigrant movement for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. Police deployed reinforcements to five of the country’s nine provinces overnight.
The protests are the latest flare-up in months of unrest that have drawn international criticism. During that period, foreign nationals have reported being forced from their homes, and having businesses and property damaged.
