'They must go or we will kill them'

A crowd of 250 foreigners seeking refuge at the Laudium police station on Wednesday night steadily grew as more people returned from work - only to find it too dangerous to go to their homes in Itireleng squatter settlement near Laudium.

Most of them had been there since Wednesday afternoon, as they fled xenophobic violence in the area. Fearing for their lives, they could only watch as their shacks and shops were destroyed and their meagre possessions stolen.

As the people huddled in quiet groups outside the police station, station commander Superintendent Johann Britz said: "The group has grown from 30 to 120 people within an hour. Several were at work when the trouble started, and now find they can't go home. Their food, clothes, everything is still there."

He said they could not send the people home as the police could not guarantee their safety. About 80 percent of those outside the station were from Malawi, while the others were from Zimbabwe, Somalia and Mozambique.

Police have arrested 10 people on charges of public violence and on Wednesday night hoped to get more of the instigators.

Britz called the home affairs department, UN representatives, Red Cross and embassies in an attempt to get help.

"Here are pregnant women. A four-year-old boy was separated from his parents and came to the station with the crowd. His parents arrived later. They searched for him through all the violence and danger and finally came here to ask the police for help," Britz said.

Outside, the Legions Special Task Team of South Africa, an NGO created by police reservists, arrived with food for the refugees.

Community members followed with blankets.

Jody Kollapen, chairperson of the SA Human Rights Commission, managed to organise overnight accommodation for the women and children in Johannesburg, but the women refused to leave their husbands.

"Some of these foreigners have been living in that area for more than 10 years. I think it was a mob mentality that led to all this trouble. It is easy to blame foreigners, but it is because of things like the Zim problem. If it is not resolved, we are going to see this violence again," Kollapen said.

Describing the group outside the police station as a humanitarian problem, Kollapen said they had lost everything. Children had to go to school the next day and parents had to work, yet they were now out on the street.

He contacted Tshwane executive mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa and it was decided to house the people in the Laudium Community Hall for the night.

"From what we have gathered, this thing was started by a handful of troublemakers and irresponsible community leaders," Kollapen said.

When Ramokgopa and Dikeledi Lehobye, member of the mayoral committee responsible for community safety, arrived, Britz briefed them on the situation.

Afterwards Ramokgopa said it appeared that most of the displaced foreigners were in the country legally.

"We need our citizens to identify the perpetrators. For decades South Africans have been living peacefully with others. We cannot behave like an uncivilised nation," she said.

In Itireleng groups of marauding armed men attacked scores of foreigners, including women and children. Panic-stricken Malawians, Mozambicans, Zimbabweans and Congolese, as well as several Zulus and Xhosas, were forced to flee.

A church was set alight and several homes were destroyed.

Beating drums, hundreds of squatters, armed with pangas, steel poles, guns, wooden planks and gardening implements, attacked the foreigners.

The armed gangs dragged people from their homes, set their belongings on fire and chased them out of the area.

Crying women were seen running for their lives, dragging their children behind them as they were forced to leave their possessions behind. Others salvaged a few belongings before retreating.

Those who tried to fight back were stabbed and beaten before being dragged naked through the streets.

Irate residents said they were tired of foreigners living in the country.

"They steal our jobs and kill our people. They must go to their own countries because if they don't, we will kill them," said John Tjana.