Xenophobic attacks flare up in Avoca
More than 120 foreigners were driven from the Sim Place Informal Settlement in Avoca last night.
FOREIGN nationals living in a north Durban informal settlement came under attack last night.
This time the attacks were targeted at foreigners in the Sim Place Informal Settlement in Avoca.
According to Sam Prakesh, the deputy chairperson of the Greenwood Park, Effingham, Avoca and Redhill Forum, more than 120 foreigners were driven from the settlement.
“The attacks are still going strong. The GEAR members have been on sight since 1am this morning. They use anything and everything as weapons to attack the foreigners. Fortunately our members arrived at the scene before anyone could be killed,” he said.
The forum and other crime prevention organisations have yet to receive any assistance from the municipality, he added.
“We had to transport the people to the Greenwood Park SAPS for shelter and safety, and we, as a community effort, have collected food for the individuals,” said Prakesh.
On Wednesday community members called for the removal of some of the refugees who are temporally being harbored at the Maurice Benjamin Hall. The residents are concerned that crime will once again spike with the foreigners staying at the hall.
This act of xenophobic violence is followed by similar conflict in Isipingo, where more than 120 refugees were pelted with stones and chased from their homes last week.
