The violence prompted 300 Mozambicans to return house by their very own means over the weekend, with greater than 500 nonetheless within the nation now starting the official repatriation course of.
Printed On 2 Jun 2026
A minimum of 5 Mozambican nationals have been killed in “xenophobic assaults” in South Africa over the weekend, the Mozambican authorities stated, marking the primary deaths formally linked to country-wide protests towards undocumented immigration.
About 800 Mozambicans acquired caught up in violence that broke out within the southern coastal metropolis of Mossel Bay on Friday, the federal government press workplace stated in a press release acquired on Tuesday.
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“Regrettably, seven Mozambican residents have died, 5 of them as a direct consequence of the xenophobic assaults and the opposite two on account of a street accident, once they have been travelling in a non-public car on their approach again to Mozambique,” the assertion stated.
The violence prompted 300 Mozambicans to return house on Saturday, stated the assertion.
“The remaining simply over 500 have since been sheltered in a secure location within the Western Cape Province, and as of in the present day, 1 June, the method of their repatriation to Mozambique is already underway,” it stated.
South African police stated on Sunday they have been investigating the deaths of two males at a casual settlement in Mossel Bay, a port city about 380km (236 miles) east of Cape City, the place xenophobic assaults had been reported.
They didn’t say whether or not the deaths have been linked to the protests. It was additionally not instantly clear what nationalities the 2 males have been.
However the space mayor, Dirk Kotze, voiced “deep concern and dismay on the present xenophobic assaults the place individuals have been murdered, homes burned and households displaced”.
The area has seen anti-migrant protests just like these reported within the monetary capital Johannesburg, Durban and components of the Jap Cape province in latest weeks.
South Africa has confronted recurring waves of xenophobic violence since 2008, when dozens of migrants have been killed and hundreds displaced in assaults throughout the nation. Related flare-ups occurred in 2015 and 2021.
The most recent spike in anti-immigrant tensions comes as political events search help earlier than native authorities elections in November.
