Anti-migrant REVOLT: Shops looted and shots fired after migrants given right to apply for asylum

Anti-migrant protests turned violent with gunshots fired and cars burnt out in Johannesburg last week. Protests began early this year over crime and sexual assaults linked to illegal migration. Protesters threatened migrants with violence should they not leave the country.

South Africa's government stepped up deportations, initially removing 50,000 migrants in weeks. Protests rebounded however, when locals demanded a refugee centre stopped processing asylum claims. Unrest led to foreign-owned shops being looted.

The unrest was fuelled by fury after the Supreme Court ruled asylum seekers cannot be rejected just on the basis of having entered the country illegally. This led to long queues outside immigration centres where migrants could apply.

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