GANSBAAI: Hundreds of foreigners fearing for their lives have taken shelter in community halls on South Africa's south coast, saying mobs of locals were going door-to-door telling them to leave the country. Mostly nationals of Malawi and Mozambique, many told AFP they had fled their homes at the weekend and spent nights in the mountains and bush, before making their way to the small-town community centres.
"They said 'you are a foreigner, you don't belong in South Africa, so you must go'," Mozambican Thomas Vincent Baloyi told AFP in Gansbaai, around 110 kilometres (70 miles) southeast of Cape Town. The situation has raised concerns about xenophobic attacks, which have occurred periodically in South Africa, often targeting African immigrants who are blamed for crime and taking jobs. Local authorities have been working to provide food and shelter for the displaced, while police have increased patrols to prevent further violence. Many of the foreigners are seeking assurances of safety before returning to their homes. Community leaders have appealed for calm and urged residents not to take the law into their own hands.
