South Africa withdraws asylum processing following xenophobic clashes

South Africa's government has withdrawn an order to process asylum applications after it led to xenophobic violence in Johannesburg and Durban. The directive was issued by the Department of Home Affairs following a court judgement that said asylum seekers could not be denied access to South Africa's asylum system solely on procedural grounds, such as entering the country illegally.

The order led to violent protests, with rioters torching cars and looting shops in both locations. According to DW English, 14 cars were torched in Durban and 10 in Soweto's township. The unrest in Durban followed a protest by a group demanding that a refugee center stop processing asylum applications.

The Department of Home Affairs stated that its offices were "overwhelmed within a matter of days" and that "serious threats to public safety and order had emerged." The department will embark on a fresh process.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, DW English (Top Stories), IOL, Punch, Free Malaysia Today — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.