Francistown is grappling with a fresh wave of illegal gold mining activities and there are fears that it could be fueled by an influx of Zimbabwean immigrants into the city who are escaping anti-immigrants tensions in South Africa.
Anti-immigration protests and marches targeting undocumented foreign nationals have erupted across major South African cities like Johannesburg, Cape town and Durban led by citizen groups such as March and March and Dudula Operation. Demonstrators are demanding the South African government to deport illegal immigrants and to enforce strict border controls. Some protests have led to violence and intimidation forcing thousands of immigrants from countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique out of that country.The violence and attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa has been widely classified by human rights organizations, the United Nations and international organizations as “xenophobic”.
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