Police fired rubber bullets and used stun grenades against migrants protesting Wednesday near a community hall in South Africa where thousands are being processed for deportation by authorities.
The clashes came as tensions over immigration surge in Africa’s richest country following a series of anti-migrant marches and reports of attacks on some foreign nationals.
The migrants who gathered near the hall in the eastern city of Durban are mainly Malawians who initially turned up there more than a week ago to be voluntarily repatriated to their home country on buses provided by their government, authorities said.
The premier of KwaZulu-Natal Province, where Durban is, has said nearly 10,000 Malawians have been camping in a park near the hall waiting to go home.
But delays in that process have led South African authorities to establish an immigration court at the hall and implement “formal deportation processes,” according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Video broadcast by South African television stations showed groups of protesters throwing rocks, sticks and logs at police in the streets near the hall, and police officers responding with stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Local media reported the clashes involving small groups of migrants erupted because of frustrations at the delays in them returning home.
The Home Affairs Ministry said at least 1,876 people among those gathered have been identified as being in South Africa without proper documents and would be deported. Efforts to verify the immigration status of others were ongoing, and the mayor of Durban said more than 6,000 Malawians could ultimately be deported.
Malawi is one of at least five African countries to repatriate some of their citizens from South Africa, citing threats and violent attacks on them. Malawi has already repatriated hundreds of people on buses.
Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have also provided flights or buses for some of their citizens to leave South Africa.
South Africa’s government has condemned a spate of attacks on foreigners sparked by a recent rise in anti-migrant sentiment from some groups.
South Africa, the most developed economy in Africa, is in the midst of a crackdown on immigration and has in the last two years deported more than 100,000 people who were living in the country illegally, according to the Home Affairs Ministry.
During that time, more than 500,000 others were sent back to their countries of origin after being stopped at a border trying to enter South Africa illegally, according to the ministry.
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