Hundreds held in connection with violence against immigrants in South Africa

published 20 April 2015

More than 300 people in South Africa have been arrested in connection to violent attacks against immigrants, primarily those from other countries in Africa.

South Africa's unemployment rate is at 24 percent, and armed groups have been targeting businesses owned by African immigrants, saying that they are taking away jobs that should belong to locals. Thousands have left their homes to take refuge in makeshift camps, and countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique are planning to evacuate their own citizens. An estimated 2 million foreign nationals live in South Africa.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox