President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma
South African police and soldiers on Thursday arrested nearly 200 illegal immigrants.The criminal roundup came amid efforts by police to focus on immigrant neighbourhoods to prevent further xenophobic violence.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)said that the arrest started after no fewer than seven migrants from other African countries were killed in such violence earlier this month.
"The migrants were arrested in the Thembelihle informal settlement, south of Johannesburg, which had been identified as a criminal hotspot," police spokesman, Kay Makhubela said.
Police seized a firearm, drugs and pirated CDs.
According to reports, South Africans accuse migrants of taking scarce jobs, leading to attack of citizens of several African countries including Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Somalia and other countries in Johannesburg and Durban earlier this month.
South African police authorities have pledged to prevent such incidents, while the government announced the deployment of soldiers in parts of Johannesburg.
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