Nigeria says two of its nationals were killed in South African anti-migrant violence
Nigeria’s foreign ministry said two of its nationals were killed in South Africa on June 28 amid escalating anti-migrant violence, with one allegedly dying at the hands of police during interrogation and the other killed by unidentified attackers. The deaths fell two days before an unofficial deadline set by protesters demanding that foreigners leave the country.
The killings follow months of armed demonstrations against what organizers call “illegal foreigners,” a campaign that has spread online and hardened into street violence targeting African migrants. South Africa’s Border Management Authority says more than 13,000 foreign nationals — including roughly 9,000 Malawians, 3,000 Zimbabweans and hundreds of Ghanaians and Nigerians — have been repatriated or deported in recent weeks . Nigeria’s protest over the deaths adds a diplomatic strain between the continent’s two largest economies, which have a long history of friction over the treatment of Nigerian migrants in South Africa.