Govt says 2,745 foreigners sent home

South Africa has repatriated 2,745 foreigners in the week after President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed tougher action against illegal immigration, the country's home affairs minister said on Sunday.

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One of Africa’s largest economies, South Africa has long attracted migrant workers from across the continent, both legally and illegally.

But saddled with an unemployment rate above 30%, it has experienced recurring spurts of anti-immigrant unrest, including fresh violence in recent weeks.

Mobs of South Africans carrying sticks, whips and shields have marched through parts of the country ordering foreigners with no residency papers to leave by June 30.

Growing security fears after businesses were looted and foreigners targeted have prompted citizens of Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to accept voluntary repatriation organised by their governments.

“As of last night, the number we can report is 2,745 repatriations that have come in this period since the president spoke,” Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber told reporters.

“It is a moving target,” he said.