The Mozambique government has claimed that five of its citizens were killed in “xenophobic attacks” in South Africa at the weekend, with local police on Tuesday confirming two deaths.
The murders in the southern seaside town of Mossel Bay are the first to be formally connected to the most recent round of anti-illegal immigrant demonstrations that have swept through South Africa.
In a statement released late on Monday, the media office of the Mozambican government reported that violence occurred on Friday, with a focus on Mossel Bay, which is located approximately 380 kilometres (236 miles) east of Cape Town.
“Unfortunately, while travelling in a private vehicle on their way back to Mozambique, seven Mozambican citizens have died, five of them directly as a result of the xenophobic attacks and the other two as a result of a road accident,” the statement stated.
However, the South African police told AFP that only two Mozambican citizens were killed in Mossel Bay late on Friday; they did not specify if the deaths were caused by anti-immigrant violence.
According to Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa, “It is not true that five people were killed.”
On Friday night, two Mozambicans—a 27-year-old and a 43-year-old—died at the Asla Park informal settlement outside the town, she added.
Similar to the riots that have swept over South Africa in recent weeks, the region has witnessed anti-illegal migrant demonstrations, particularly in the financial hub of Johannesburg and the east coast city of Durban.
Hundreds of people were displaced, and many houses were set on fire as a result of a protest that began in Asla Park on Friday, according to local media.
The Mozambican administration also revealed that 300 citizens of Mozambique returned home on their own on Saturday as a result of the violence.
“As of today, the process of their repatriation to Mozambique is already underway, and the remaining just over 500 have since been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province,” the statement stated.
Dirk Kotze, the mayor of Mossel Bay, expressed “deep concern and dismay at the current xenophobic attacks where people have been murdered, houses burnt, and families displaced” over the weekend.