DESPITE THE CALL BY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA FOR PEACE, THE XENOPHOBIA ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICAN SPREADS TO JOHANNESBURG

According to Police reports yesterday 17th April 2015, Twelve people have been arrested so far as the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa gradually spread to parts of downtown Johannesburg.

The Police Sportsman Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini told Bloom Gist's correspondent in South Africa Akhona Mkhangelwa that Twelve suspects were arrested for trying to break into foreign-owned shops,”

It was the latest incident in a wave of immigrant-targeted violence that began earlier this month in the port city of Durban, leaving at least six people dead.

Violence attacks continues as they burn shops and properties of foreigners

According to other sources in the Country, the protesters from a local hostel demanded foreign nationals leave South Africa, setting cars alight and clashing with police. and according to Dlamini., no injuries were sustained.

Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has condemned the violence in parliament, saying no amount of frustration or anger can ever justify the attacks on foreign nationals and the looting of their shops,”

They Claim That High Rate of Unemployment if the Country Fueled The anger Against Foreigners

At least five people have died in attacks on foreigners in recent weeks

Many South Africans have accused the forigners of taking jobs in a country where the real citizens suffer and are unemployed,  the unemployment rate in South Africa which was recently released is 24%.

Locals and African immigrants in South African often compete for scarce jobs, making them a target for violence and intimidation.

According To Lukamba, These Boys Don't Understand The History of Africa

Lukamba, a South Africans and a member of an organization trying to negotiate between the two sides has said that the Zulu boys seem not to understand the History of Africa

"They don't understand the history of Africa; if they do, they would know each of us, we are one," he said.

According to an aid group Gift of the Givers, about 8,500 people are hiding in refugee centers including police stations and highly secured areas because of the violence. The number did not include those who have moved in with friends or relatives.

The aid group said it has a facility in Johannesburg to help those who might need shelter.

"We are preparing aid packages for those who may journey onwards to their home countries," it said.

A victim of the violence in South Africa

Early this year, foreign shopkeepers in and around Soweto, south of Johannesburg, were forced to vacate their premises after violence and looting broke out.

In 2008, 62 people were killed in xenophobic violence in Johannesburg townships.