Five men detained after violence in Durban
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on TimesLIVE
Five men were detained in Durban after several attacks on foreign nationals, including a death and an attack on a visa office. Violence and protests continue despite the deployment of the army, while two mayoral candidates are calling for a tougher response, according to TimesLIVE.
Five men were detained for questioning as part of investigations into several attacks on foreign nationals in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Colonel Robert Netshiunda said on Friday, according to TimesLIVE. On Monday, Netshiunda said four of them had been charged and were due to appear in court; the fifth was released.
The investigations include an assault on a foreign national in the city centre on Wednesday and the death of another man, who was beaten to death on Thursday morning. Police are also investigating the alleged assault of two foreigners by a group of protesters in Berea. In Morningside, protesters broke into a visa office, fired shots, damaged the building and assaulted a foreign national.
Clashes between local and foreign delivery drivers also took place in several areas of Durban over the weekend, prompting the intervention of police and private security firms. The tensions are part of a wave of anti-immigrant and xenophobic violence that led KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli to call in the army the previous month.
On 24 October, five suspects had already been arrested after a Ugandan man died in the violence in Durban, according to the account then reported in our report on arrests linked to the violence. The army was deployed in the city after violence reported earlier in October, as part of a security reinforcement in Durban.
