S. Africa assess attacks on migrants

by cynthia yoo | June 12, 2008 at 09:50 am

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The South African government reported that a third of those killed in last month's xenophobic riots in South Africa were indeed citizens. The rioters mistook them for foreign migrant workers.

Twenty-one South Africans died in the riots, spokesman Themba Maseko said. He said 20,000 displaced people were still living in fields and halls.
The violence, blamed on unemployment and scarce resources, was the worst since the end of apartheid in 1994.

The government plans to hold a day of national healing and to work on reintegration policies.

Mr Maseko said the government's policy was to push for the reintegration of those living in makeshift camps.

"We should not be romanticising the process of reintegration," he told journalists.

"It's not going to be easy; it's going to require a lot of hard work.

"It'll require dialogue between the communities and the displaced people and the issue of security is going to be one of the major issues."

He said that the UNHCR has no plans to evacuate any of the foreigners.