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Minister tackles xenophobic attacks
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa flew into the Western Cape on Monday for an assessment after a wave of xenophobic violence, a spokesman said. Earlier, police and troops were deployed in force as scores of foreigners sought refuge at police stations in Cape Town and surrounding towns.  A government spokesman said Mthethwa and Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu travelled to the Western Cape “to get first hand reports from senior law enforcement officers”. Sisulu said in a statement the army would do all it could to help the police and vowed that anybody who targeted foreigners would be “dealt with”.  “Opportunistic criminals must know that we will deal with them harshly, there is no way we will allow them to spread fear and crime. We are working very hard to find them and prosecute them.” Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said there were “sporadic incidents of looting” at shops belonging to foreigners on Sunday night. Areas where this occurred included Nyanga, Philippi East and Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats, Wellington, Paarl East, Mbekweni (a Paarl township), Franschhoek and Klapmuts. “Police responded and a heavy police contingency was deployed in conjunction with metro police and SANDF in all these areas,” Van Wyk said. Seven men, aged between 19 and 30, had been arrested in the Nyanga area. They were charged with public violence and were to appear in the Phillipi Magistrate’s Court on Monday.  “SAPS will continue to deploy in high numbers to maintain law and order in the mentioned areas. Tranquillity has been restored and no further reports of violence have been reported,” Van Wyk said.  Spokeswoman for provincial disaster management Daniella Ebenezer earlier said 70 foreigners had sought refuge overnight at the Mbekweni police station in Paarl and 22 at Wellington.  There were smaller numbers at police stations in Franschhoek, and Langa and Harare on the Cape Flats.
They had gone there “mainly because they were fearful”, but in some instances following attacks on shops. Ebenezer said there were “sporadic” attacks on shops on Saturday in the region, and “some incidents of looting” on Sunday.  No-one had been seriously injured.
She said according to reports from police, spaza shops and containers used as shops were “damaged” in Mbekweni, Paarl East, Wellington and Nyanga on Sunday. Ebenezer said the province’s community development workers had been providing information to authorities on what was happening on the ground. Mediators deployed to communities last week would continue their efforts.
“Provincial and local government are on standby to provide humanitarian support, should this be required,” she said.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20100712155804315C761243

Foreigners seek refuge at police stations

A heavy police and military presence has been deployed in Western Cape townships following sporadic xenophobic violence, police said on Monday. Provincial authorities said scores of foreigners had sought refuge at police stations in the region.
Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said that on Sunday night there were “sporadic incidents of looting” at shops belonging to foreigners. Areas where this occurred included Nyanga, Philippi East and Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats, Wellington, Paarl East, Mbekweni (a Paarl township), Franschhoek and Klapmuts. “Police responded and a heavy police contingency was deployed in conjunction with Metro Police and SANDF [the defence force] in all these areas,” Van Wyk said.

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20100712125356596C317143

Filed under: Society and living environment, Uncategorized, cape town, south africa, world cup, Xenophia