South Africa mob violence leaves 12 dead

Zimbabweans as refugees?
Johannesburg is South Africa's economic hub and home to hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Many of them are illegal, but many have also been here for more than a decade and possess South African identity documents.

There has been sporadic anti-foreigner violence for months, mainly aimed at stores run by Somalis accused of undercutting local storeowners, but nothing that compares to the violence over the weekend.

Eric Goemaere, the head of Medecins Sans Frontieres in South Africa, said his staff was helping to treat people with bullet wounds and back injuries from being thrown out of windows.

He called on the South Africa government to declare Zimbabweans as refugees and give them proper protection. "It's a crisis," he said.

There are believed to be up to 3 million Zimbabweans living in neighboring South Africa who have fled the economic and political turmoil in their homeland.

Massive inflation, food and fuel shortages have sent increasing numbers of Zimbabweans to South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia in search of business and basic commodities — or whole new lives.

Zimbabwe's opposition also has cited mounting violence and intimidation targeting its supporters since the country's disputed March 29 presidential election. A runoff between longtime ruler Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is set for June 27.

Immigrants seek refuge
At the downtown Jeppe police station, large tents and water tanks were being offloaded to help another group of 500 people who sought shelter. Dazed-looking women sat huddled close to piles of blankets and clothes while men kept watch over fridges, bicycles, TVs and other belongings.

Mozambican Bevinda Komati's family including her 11-year-old niece and a 1-month-old baby had to be rescued by police when a mob attacked her brother's small store in downtown Johannesburg.

"We had to hide in the back. They were breaking windows and throwing stones. We didn't know what to do. Luckily, the police came and saved us."

The 26-year-old has been living in South Africa since 1988. Her niece was born here.

"We have lived with these people everyday. I don't know why they are doing this," she said.

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