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| Africa Subsaharan |
| "The Necklace" returns to Soth Africa |
| 2008-05-22 |
| Sounds like Winnie Mandela got outta jail and opened up a trade school... JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- South African police and military units raided three hostels Thursday in a clampdown on xenophobic attacks that have left more than 40 dead, authorities said. Twenty-eight people were arrested in the "extremely successful" first joint operation, according to a statement from the South African police and South African National Defence Force. The statement said 150 kilograms (330.6 pounds) of marijuana was seized along with firearms, ammunition and suspected stolen property. Two of the hostels raided were in Jeppe and the third was in Cleveland, all in the Johannesburg area. South African President Thabo Mbeki approved the deployment of the army Wednesday to help stop the attacks, which have drawn condemnation from South African officials and other African leaders. Police said 42 people have been killed in the violence, which began last week in Johannesburg's Alexandra Township and has been concentrated in the city's poorest areas. Some 28,000 people have been displaced by the violence, Hangwani Malaudzi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Safety and Security said. And more than 400 have been arrested for crimes ranging from murder, to causing a public disturbance, he said. The country has also seen a disturbing throwback to the 1980s apartheid-era lynching tactic of "necklacing," which was widely used in the townships at the time. Used on suspected informants, the "necklace" is a car tire, filled with petrol, put around the person's neck and set alight. The victims are mainly immigrants and refugees from other parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe, where a devastated economy has sent at least two million people across the border in search of a better life. Some say the attacks stem from a long-standing feeling among locals that the number of immigrants in South Africa results in shortages of jobs and essential needs. Inadequate housing, a lack of running water and electricity, the rising prices of food, and escalating crime -- nearly 20,000 people were slain in South Africa last year -- add to the resentment. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #3 Some say the attacks stem from a long-standing feeling among locals that the number of immigrants in South Africa results in shortages of jobs and essential needs. Well, whip my weasel! I've heard of that happening around these here parts. Only the illegal immigrants generally kill us here. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-05-22 23:25 |
| #2 Sounds like Winnie Mandela got outta jail and opened up a trade school... Cold, cold, cold :-) |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-05-22 19:17 |
| #1 Inadequate housing, a lack of running water and electricity, the rising prices of food, and escalating crime But petrol is obviously cheap! |
| Posted by: Classer 2008-05-22 18:20 |