'Foreigners in Alexandra won't be deported'

Mapisa-Nqakula says foreigners in Alexandra won't be deported

Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has reassured foreigners in Alexandra, northeast of Johannesburg, that they will not be deported.

Mapisa-Nqakula says all the immigrants, whether legal or not, will be given humanitarian assistance. She will visit the area tomorrow where two foreigners have been killed and several injured in what is believed to be xenophobic attacks by the community.

Mapisa-Nqakula says: "All those immigrants, all those people who are affected by this violence should receive some sort of humanitarian assistance. In fact, I even want to reassure them, those that … are illegal … at this point in time, we cannot seek to deport them back to their countries."

She added: "I want to assure these people that they are protected, they are defended and that we render whatever assistance we can to them."

Meanwhile police in the area have issued a deadly warning saying they will shoot back with live ammunition if attacked. The warning comes after shacks were set alight for the fourth successive night in the embattled informal settlement North of Johannesburg.