President Jacob Zuma has called for an end to 'shocking and unacceptable' attacks on Africans and South Asians

The anti-immigration violence in South Africa has forced thousands of people to flee their homes and the country

At least six have been killed by armed gangs wielding machetes, hammers and sticks who are targeting foreigners

A shop owner from Mozambique has died from his injuries in a Johannesburg hospital amid xenophobic violence


A bloody and wounded shop owner has been pictured just moments before he died from his injuries on another day of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The man who is believed to be from Mozambique was taken to a hospital in Johannesburg where he tragically passed away.

At least six people have been killed and many thousands displaced from their homes since the violence against immigrants erupted in the city of Durban several weeks ago.

Despite making 30 arrests overnight, police are struggling to subdue the machete-wielding gangs who ransacked immigrant-owned shops in the slums of Johannesburg.

Many families in the city who now fear for their lives have abandoned their homes and fled to a makeshift refugee camp which lies just east of Johannesburg.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has called for an end to the 'shocking and unacceptable' attacks on immigrants from Africa and South Asia, saying: 'No amount of frustration and anger can ever justify the attacks on foreign nationals.'

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Victim: A shop owner believed to be from Mozambique (pictured) has died from his injuries amid the xenophobic violence that has gripped South Africa

Wounded: Bloodied and hurt, the man was taken to a hospital in Johannesburg where he eventually died

Help: A passer-by comes to the aid of the shop owner who was fatally attacked in poor area of Johannesburg and later died in hospital

Dying: He is one of at least six who have been killed in the country this week as armed gangs target foreigners in a spate of xenophobic attacks

Looted: A woman sifts through the remains of the ransacked store she was renting to foreign nationals who are now being targeted by violent groups in Johannesburg

Attacks: At least six people have been killed and many thousands displaced from their homes since the violence against immigrants erupted in the city of Durban several weeks ago

Violent: Gangs of anti-immigrant protesters armed with hammers, knives and machetes have been reeking havoc in South Africa

Scorched: 12 people were arrested overnight as anti-foreigner attacks in South Africa spread to parts of Johannesburg where rioters torched tires (pictured)

Dangerous: Despite making 30 arrests overnight, police have struggled to control the gangs who have torched cars and shops owned by foreign nationals

Refugee: This child who awaits much-needed hospital treatment is one of dozens whose family has been forced to abandon their homes in Johannesburg for a makeshift camp in the city

Protection: Foreign nationals who fear for their lives have gathered at a relief camp (pictured) set up in Primrose, East of Johannesburg

Innocence lost: One of the many refugees now seeking shelter in Johannesburg is two-year-old toddler Knowledge (pictured)

Pain: One man needed emergency treatment for his injuries at the refugee camp set up for foreign nationals fleeing attacks from South Africans

Victims: South African President Jacob Zuma has said the majority foreign nationals (pictured) being targeted by angry, armed mobs are living in the country legally and contribute to its economy

Anger: Zuma has called for an end to the 'shocking and unacceptable' attacks on immigrants from Africa, some of whom now occupy a refugee camp east of Johannesburg (pictured)

Homeless: Some South Africans blame immigrants coming to the country (pictured) of taking jobs and opportunities away from them

Justification: But South African President Zuma has said 'no amount of frustration and anger can ever justify the attacks on foreign nationals'

There was a heavy police presence in the Alexandra township as armed rioters looted shops, burned tires and built street barricades overnight. And armed policeman fired rubber bullets at the groups who have torched shops and cars in the poor areas of Johannesburg in recent days.

Police claim that attacks on immigrants - many of whom are from other African countries - have largely subsided in the country's east where the violence began.

With unemployment and poverty levels high in the country, some South Africans have accused the immigrants of taking jobs and opportunities away from them.

A police spokesman said the 30 people arrested in Johannesburg overnight will be charged for 'public violence, malicious damage to property, house breaking and theft'.

Thousands of foreigners in the country have fled their homes and the country amid the violence, escaping to makeshift camps as well as neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.

The surge of violence against immigrants is widely blamed on a speech made by King Goodwill Zwelithini, a traditional Zulu leader who blamed the foreigners living South Africa for its high crime rate and said they must 'take their bags and go'.

He has been accused of 'igniting' the Zulus who comprise one of South Africa's largest ethnic groups by saying 'we must deal with our own lice' in a speech broadcast by a local radio station.

The King has since said his words were misinterpreted but for some, Zwelithini simply articulated what many were feeling.

Protest: South African demonstrators have taken to the streets in Johannesburg in a bid to raise awareness of the xenophobic attacks taking place in its township

Furious: And in neighbouring Mozambique, hundreds have been protesting the violence being inflicted on their countrymen in South Africa

Safety: As people in Maputo, Mozambique (pictured) protest against the violence in South Africa, its government has offered to evacuate its citizens from the country

Rise up: Mozambique nationals (pictured) are furious at the violence against their citizens in Johannesburg were four people were killed in a week where shops owned by foreigners were looted back in January

Blame: Protesters in Mozambique (pictured) hold up signs blaming South African President Jacob Zuma for the violence befalling immigrants in the country

Demonstrators: Some South Africans (pictured) have tried to raise awareness for the xenophobic violence but some blame the immigrants for taking jobs in a time of severe unemployment

Armed: At least six people have died since South Africans wielding machetes and other weapons (pictured) began attacking and looting properties owned by fellow Africans

Brutal: The surge of violence against immigrants is widely blamed on a speech made by a traditional Zulu leader who blamed foreigners for a rise in hate crime

Response: Police in Johannesburg (pictured) have been firing rubber bullets to subdue the violent gangs in the city

Battle: A South African police officer trains his sights on Zulu protesters who were demonstrated in front of their hostel in the Jeppestown district of Johannesburg (pictured)

Retaliation: But police also claim that attacks on immigrants - many of whom are from other African countries - have largely subsided

The violence has also been blamed on high unemployment and while recent figures put it at 25 per cent, economists believe it is much higher and crippling the country with widespread poverty and a glaring class divide.

Meanwhile foreign nationals have condemned South Africa's police for failing to protect them and even stirring hostility.

The government says it is addressing complaints about undocumented migrants but many foreign nationals are living legally in South Africa and contributing to economic development.

But the situation has become so severe that the government of Malawi has hired buses to repatriate 500 of its nationals, according to the country's Information Minister.

Kenya has also offered to evacuate any of their citizens who feel threatened and on just today, Mozambique has temporarily blocked a road leading to South Africa.

60 people died during similar unrest in the country in 2008 and in January this year, four people were killed in a week where shops owned by foreigners were looted in Soweto, Johannesburg.

Furious: A terrifying woman covered in black soot (pictured) began screaming at a group of foreign nationals in Johannesburg

Savage: Rioters have armed themselves with sticks, knives and baseball bats as they attack immigrants in Johannesburg (pictured)

Rioters: The violence in South Africa has also been blamed on high unemployment and a glaring class divide

Vicious: With a total population of about 50 million, South Africa is home to an estimated 5 million immigrants who are now being targeted by brutal gangs (pictured)

Zimbabwe's Information Minster Jonathan Moyo tweeted that 'xenophobia today can easily mutate into genocide tomorrow' adding that the Zulu king should 'extinguish what he ignited'.

While in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu, some locals believed their countrymen would have been safer in their troubled native country than in South Africa.

One resident of the city said: 'This must become a lesson for them to return home... Otherwise, they will be eliminated one by one."

It is also a major destination for asylum seekers and currently houses more than 300,000 of them according to projections by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.