South Africa has withdrawn an order to accept more asylum applications following violent protests in which cars were torched and shops looted, and the government warned processing staff were left "at risk." Riots broke out after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that asylum applications should be considered from people even if they entered South Africa illegally, did not declare their intention to seek asylum at the border, or did not report to a refugee reception office within five days as required by law. People gathered in the city of Durban and in parts of Johannesburg on Thursday to demonstrate against the ruling, with local media reporting that crowds stormed “spaza shops” (small, often informal convenience stores) run by foreigners and set fire to at least 24 vehicles, local media reported. South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, which had opposed the Constitutional Court’s order, announced on Friday that it would halt implementing the new policy because of “serious consequences that could not have been foreseen.” It said refugee operations were “overwhelmed within a matter of days since the directive was issued, Home Affairs officials were placed at risk, and that serious threats to public safety and order had emerged.” The department added that it would “embark on a fresh process” to come up with a new approach to comply with the order.
Like many countries in the West, immigration has become a contentious issue in South Africa, with people most often arriving from neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi. Tensions there have repeatedly led to riots in recent years, with the violence sometimes turning deadly. At least four people were killed during anti-foreigner protesters in Durban earlier this year.
This is a developing story; more to follow.
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