Nigeria’s government has summoned South Africa’s top diplomat in Abuja over attacks on foreigners in the country, the foreign ministry said Saturday.
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long been a destination for both legal and undocumented African workers.
But saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 percent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic and anti-migrant protests — including renewed violence in recent weeks.
South Africa’s acting high commissioner in Abuja is set to meet with Nigerian officials Monday for discussions on “documented instances of mistreatment of Nigerian citizens and attacks on their businesses”, foreign ministry spokesman Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said.
The summons comes a week after Ghana’s foreign ministry called in South Africa’s acting high commissioner in Accra over several “xenophobic incidents” against Ghanaians.
Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa spoke of an incident in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province in which a Ghanaian, “a legal resident, was confronted… (and) instructed to leave South Africa and ‘fix his country'”.
The statement also warned of “escalating tensions, with foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, being advised to remain indoors for their safety”.
There are more than three million foreigners living in South Africa, or 5.1 percent of the population, according to the statistics agency.
More than 63 percent come from countries in the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.
South Africa’s acting police minister last week condemned anti-immigrant violence, saying attacks on foreign nationals were “unlawful” and violated the country’s constitutional values of dignity and equality.
“Acts of xenophobia, violence, looting, or intimidation will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Firoz Cachalia said in a statement.
Police have “been instructed to act decisively and without hesitation in addressing these incidents”, he added.
By Agencies
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