11.55am' Atteridgeville residents in Pretoria have described how protesters have started to block roads with burning tyres ahead of the planned anti-immigrant march which was scheduled for today, February 24.
11.30am' A large group of protesters has left the township on foot and is arriving in the Pretoria CBD. This comes on the heels of violence in Atteridgeville this morning.
Numerous roads have been closed as police confront the demonstrators, firing rubber bullets to disperse them.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to march to the Home Affairs Department to hand over a memorandum which outlines grievances against foreigners.
Police officers from across Gauteng have been deployed to monitor the anti-immigrant march.
March organisers, the 'Mamelodi Concerned Residents', say it’s unfair that the violence is now being blamed on South Africans.
11.00am' Foreign nationals gathered ongoing in Pretoria for the #ForeignerMarch
Following approval from the Tshwane Metro Police Department, the Mamelodi Concerned Residents has organized a protest against the illegal immigrants in Pretoria on Friday, February 24.
Tshwane Metro Police Department said that after much consideration it had decided to give permission for the #Foreignermarch to go ahead in Pretoria, but with conditions.
Around 1,000 people are presently gathered on the streets, and the organisers said they are not targeting foreigners but the South African government’s controls over immigration.
The march takes place with a backdrop of attacks against foreigners across select sections of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
In recent weeks, homes and businesses have been torched and looted in the name of stopping crime committed by foreigners.
The actions have been fuelled by both the sentiment that foreigners are committing crime in South Africa and that they have been able to economically prosper where locals have not.
No comments:
Post a Comment