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Rabat – The Democratic Republic of the Congo announced the repatriation of 121 nationals from South Africa, which has been under scrutiny as foreigners have been facing xenophobic violence.
The DRC announced the repatriation of the first group of its nationals on Saturday amid violence targeting foreigners, with violent perpetrators claiming to target undocumented migrants.
However, several videos show that perpetrators were also targeting shop owners or migrants, despite them showing evidence that they were not undocumented migrants.
Months of protests and unrest have marred South Africa, with tens of thousands targeting migrants.
The situation prompted tens of thousands of foreign nationals to flee the country.
AFP reported that at least 150,000 foreign nationals from several countries have left South Africa in recent weeks.
The migrants who left the country come from different African countries, including Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, in addition to Ghana and Nigeria, according to AFP.
The DRC said the repatriation of the citizens comes as part of a first voluntary initiative.
Reports said South Africa has attracted migrant workers from across the continent but has been experiencing recurring waves of violence since 2008.
AFP also reported that South Africa arrested 69 people after a protest targeting migrants escalated into violence and looting.
Many countries whose citizens were targeted by xenophobic violence, including Nigeria and Ghana, condemned the attacks and stressed the need for urgent continental responses to address the causes of similar tensions.
Earlier this month, Nigeria denounced the deaths of two of its nationals, warning that foreign nationals are being targeted amid anti-migrant protests.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said the two citizens were targeted on June 28.
Reports said Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry blamed the “alleged use of gruesome interrogation techniques” for one of its citizens’ deaths, with reports stating the man was killed by police officers in Pretoria.
The other was killed in front of his shop by unidentified attackers.
On July 16, Reuters reported that Nigeria completed the voluntary evacuation of 1,490 citizens from South Africa following the xenophobic attacks. The country said the evacuation followed discussions with South African authorities over the situation linked to the xenophobic attacks, condemning the violence.
