Malawi, one of South Africa’s closest allies from as far back as the apartheid era, on Tuesday joined fellow southern African states to warn its citizens from getting caught up in the violence-hit the Rainbow Nation’s trouble spots.
South Africa has been under intense scrutiny since Sunday when some of its citizens began to attack fellow African nationals living in their country as they carried out various economic activities like running shops.
Accusing the foreigners of taking away scarce jobs, the locals have looted their shops empty, burnt vehicles and physically attacked them in spite of Pretoria’s efforts to stop the xenophobic violence in Johannesburg and its surrounding areas.
According to Malawi Foreign Minister Francis Kasaila, his government was working on how best to provide security to his compatriots caught up in the attacks in South Africa.
“All Malawians living in trouble spots should take extra measures for their personal security,” Kasaila said in Lilongwe on Tuesday.
The minister added: “If they (Malawians) want to move from one area to another, they should assess the security situation first and be extra careful to avoid the attacks.”
Apart from Malawi, Ethiopia and Zambia have also urged their nationals living in South Africa to take measures to avoid the violence, which started on Sunday, that has seen some neighbourhoods looking like a war zone.
NM/as/APA