Chaos in Cape Town as police arrest foreigners
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – There was chaos in Cape Town’s city centre on Wednesday after police removed hundreds of foreign nationals and refugees who had been camping outside the offices of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for the past three weeks.
The protesters, who are all from other African countries, have asked to be evacuated from the country following a recent wave of xenophobic violence. Although that violence occurred in Johannesburg and Pretoria last month and was quickly contained, Cape Town-based foreigners say they feel “unwelcome and unsafe”.
Several people have been injured after heavily armed police moved in to “clear the area” which is located near shops and businesses.
In a statement received by PANA, police say about 100 people were arrested after "they failed to heed the call to disperse".
"The SAPS (South African Police Service) in the Western Cape is aware of earlier efforts to engage the group facilitated by role-players such as the UNHCR to resolve the impasse in an amicable manner. Unfortunately, the attempts yielded no positive result," the statement noted.
It added that the police had secured a court order and “they are obligated to support its execution by the sheriff”.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filipo Grandi is in South Africa and has addressed the stand-off with Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
“South Africa receives large numbers of refugees and migrants from the region and beyond. I have agreed with Minister Motsoaledi that co-operation between UNHCR and Home Affairs (Ministry) will be strengthened so we can work together to make South Africa’s asylum system more effective,” he said in a statement last week.
-0- PANA CU/MA 30Oct2019
