Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday pledged to tackle the
"underlying" problems behind the spate of recent xenophobic attacks, as
troops were sent in to support police in a crackdown against attacks on
immigrants that have left at least seven people dead.Overnight
on Tuesday, 11 men were arrested in a joint police and army raid on a
hostel in Jeppestown, in downtown Johannesburg, hours after the military
was deployed.
After meeting business, civil and religious
leaders, Zuma said his government would take decisive steps to address
"underlying" problems behind the attacks and ensure foreigners were not
targeted.
"South Africans are not xenophobic," he said. "If we don't deal with the underlying issues, it will come back."
"We
have taken a decision that we don't want to see it again and therefore
we are going to be working together with that determination."
Zuma
gave few details of government plans, but said the violence was driven
by "criminal elements" as well as friction between foreigners and
locals.
Many South Africans believe poverty and a severe jobs
shortage is one driving factor behind mobs in Johannesburg and Durban
targeting migrants from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and other African
countries.
The spate of attacks has revived memories of xenophobic
bloodshed in 2008, when 62 people were killed, tarnishing South
Africa's post-apartheid image as a "rainbow nation".
The SANDF was deployed to restore order in the 2008 unrest, and was also used against violent strikers in 2012.
'Police are overwhelmed'
Deputy
general secretary of the ANC, Jessie Duarte, said the targeting of
migrants was "well organised and co-ordinated" and that the army would
only play a supporting role in preventing unrest.
"The army is
there to assist the police [and] to ensure police are able to conduct
searches," she told a press conference on Wednesday.
"The issue we have here is poverty, inequality and unemployment - it is huge for us."
Bene
M'Poko, the Democratic Republic of Congo ambassador, told reporters at
the event that the three weeks of violence threatened South Africa's
reputation for tolerance.
"This is a sad day for South Africa... and also for the continent," he said.
"The deployment of the army indicated that police are overwhelmed," he added, accusing police of being slow to react.
"We in the diplomatic community wondered, where [are] the riot police?"
Late
Tuesday, dozens of soldiers surrounded the workers' hostel in
Jeppestown that has been a hotspot for xenophobic clashes, and police
stormed inside.
As a helicopter hovered overhead, officers moved
from floor to floor conducting searches as residents lay face down in
corridors.
"Eleven suspects were arrested in Jeppe hostel for
possession of dagga and stolen property. They were aged between 24 and
49," police spokesperson Solomon Makgale said.
'Soldiers are trained to kill'
The involvement of soldiers was criticised by the EFF as a overreaction and a misuse of the military.
"[The]
government is losing control over society and now resorting to extreme
measures in the same manner done by the apartheid regime," it said.
"Soldiers
and armies all over the world are trained to kill, and we will not be
shocked when instead of keeping peace in the townships, there are
casualties."
A mass anti-xenophobia march is planned in
Johannesburg on Thursday, and Zuma is due to hold talks with groups
representing foreign nationals living in South Africa on Friday.
Regional
relations have been strained by the attacks, with Zimbabwe, Malawi and
Mozambique organising for some worried citizens to return home.
Neighbouring Mozambique said more than 2 000 citizens had fled the violence.
Five buses also arrived back in Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
"I don't know what to do next," said Wonder Nyamutowa, who worked as a construction worker in Durban.
"I am a breadwinner and I could manage to send money back to my family, but I won't go back."
AFP
