South Africa has been left in shock after an eruption of violence on a scale not seen since the end of apartheid.

Anger at substantial immigrant populations - fellow blacks mainly from Zimbabwe and Mozambique - has seen at least 22 people killed in the past week since the first incidents in the northern Johannesburg township of Alexandra.

The killing has now spread through the country like wild-fire and many of the South African papers yesterday carried a shocking image of a man, from Zimbabwe, being burned alive before a jeering crowd.

The picture has triggered calls for tough action by the authorities to bring the situation under control and more criticism of the lame-duck government of President Thabo Mbeki which is fighting to maintain credibility.

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Mr Mbeki has ordered an inquiry into the violence, but his critics insist that what is needed is action

Jonathan Clayton

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The victim is believed to have died later in hospital.

Police have made 250 arrests on charges ranging from rape to robbery and public violence but over the weekend alone 13 people were killed, hacked, shot and burned to death by rioting mobs.

The wrath of the country’s teeming townships has been sparked by the belief that “foreigners” are stealing locals’ jobs and fuelling the country’s sky-high crime rates.

Zimbabweans and other immigrants in townships have been forced to abandon their homes and run for their lives. Many are ordered to leave their meagre possessions behind.

The violence has focused attention on the failure of the ruling African National Congress’ (ANC) to improve life for those at the bottom of the country’s social pyramid. Unemployment in the townships is well above the national average of 25 percent and basic services are in short supply.

Crowds of foreigners have sought refuge at packed community centres and police stations on the edge of townships all over Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at gangs of men who threatened to burn down foreigners’ shacks.

In Reiger Park, a slum area outside Johannesburg’s East Rand, at least two people were set on fire and dozens of other residents forced to flee. The violence also spread to downtown Johannesburg, where hundreds of foreign families squat in buildings largely vacated by South Africans who abandoned the area due to high levels of crime and prostitution.

“People are having to find scapegoats, this is about competition for diminishing resources... Mbeki has tried to de-racialise the economy but only a very small number at the top have really benefited,” said Sipho Seephe, President of the South Africa Institute of Race Relations.

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