Nigeria brings home 1,490 citizens from South Africa after xenophobic attacks

Nigeria brings home 1,490 citizens from South Africa after xenophobic attacks

Nigeria has completed the voluntary evacuation of 1,490 citizens from South Africa ‌following a series of ‌xenophobic attacks, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, with the latest flight bringing 305 returnees home from Johannesburg.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said a fifth evacuation flight carrying 305 returnees and two government officials arrived in Lagos on July 15.

The governmentsaid the evacuation followed talks with South African authorities over security concerns linked to xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals, including Nigerians.

Nigeria has condemned violence against its citizens in South Africa, including the deaths of at least two nationals allegedly assaulted by security officials.

Despite strong bilateral ties with South Africa, Nigeria’s position remains clear: xenophobia, racial intolerance and violence against its citizens are unacceptable, Kimiebi said.

There are more than three million documented foreign nationals in South Africa, according to official figures.

The statistics do not record the many more migrants believed to be in the country without papers – a bone of contention for the protesters.

Police said that about 50,000 migrants had been arrested since January for being in the country illegally.

Many African migrants moved to South Africa around the time white-minority rule ended in 1994, hoping for a better life.

But with South Africa facing an unemployment rate of more than 30%, anti-migrant sentiments have risen.

Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa, and has sometimes led to violence.

According to the African Centre for Migration and Society’s (ACMS) xenophobic violence tracker Xenowatch, two people have been killed this year.

In 2008, more than 60 people died during a wave of rioting against non-South Africans.

By Agencies