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Foreign national beaten to death by a mob in South Africa

Story by Al Jazeera Staff, AFP, AP and Reuters
• 19h • 2 min read



Anti-immigrant protesters march in Durban, South Africa, on June 30, 2026, amid calls by anti-immigrant groups for undocumented migrants to leave the country [File: Rogan Ward/Reuters]

A mob has beaten a foreign national to death during a protest in the South African port city of Durban, amid a wave of anti-immigrant tension.
Police said the group approached the man as he stood by the side of a road in Durban’s central business district.
The victim was allegedly assaulted by a group of about 50 people and was declared dead at the scene, a police statement said.

Police did not reveal the nationality of the man or details of the march.
They said the victim was in his 30s or early 40s, and they were still trying to identify suspects in the attack.
Anti-migrant marches

Durban has been at the epicentre of months of protests against foreign nationals, with looting and violence erupting after an anti-migrant march in the city two weeks ago.
Demonstrations calling for government action against African migrants who entered the country illegally began in June, with some escalating into violence.
Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi and other countries have said some of their citizens have been killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
South African authorities disputed some of those claims, saying that some deaths were linked to criminal activity.
Tens of thousands of migrants have left South Africa in recent months in one of the largest mass exoduses in years to avoid the violence.

Related video: SA faces rising tension as foreign national is killed amid anti-migrant protests (France24 - Video)

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SA faces rising tension as foreign national is killed amid anti-migrant protests
with anti-immigrant protests.


The government also said that many were deported for not having the required papers to be in the country.
South Africa is Africa’s largest economy and migrants have moved to the country for opportunities. But communities in South Africa say there are not enough jobs and public services are overburdened.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has denounced anti-migrant violence but acknowledged that weak border control systems allowed undocumented migrants to travel to and stay in the country.
Government figures show there are about 2.4 million foreign nationals living among South Africa’s population of 62 million.

Foreign national beaten to death by a mob in South Africa