12 arrested after Alexandra xenophobic attacks

Foreign nationals were attacked in Alexandra yesterday

Police have arrested 12 people following xenophobic attacks in Alexandra Township last night. An angry mob shot dead one person and injured 30 others, all believed to be illegal immigrants.

"They threw stones at these people, shot at them, whipped some of them with sjamboks and robbed them," said police spokesperson, Moses Maphakela. The residents of Alexandra say they do not want any more illegal immigrants. They say the foreigners rob them on the street when they go to work and when they return from work.

Police could not specify the nationality of all the victims, but said most foreigners living in Alexandra were from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Some 500 policemen have been deployed in the area to monitor the situation which was quiet today. - Additional reporting by Sapa