Ido lekota

Ido lekota

The government yesterday described the recent xenophobic attacks on foreigners as un-South African and a breach of the Geneva Protocol on Refugees of which the country is a signatory.

The cabinet also announced the establishment of an interdepartmental team to investigate all the causes of the attacks and to make recommendations on what action should be taken to prevent such attacks in future.

The government's response follows attacks on foreigners in Alexandra, where at least two people died and scores were injured. There were also reports of such attacks in Diepsloot yesterday.

"These attacks represent a dangerous tendency that is foreign to South African history and consciousness," the cabinet said in a statement.

"For many decades South Africans in Alexandra and many parts of the country have lived side by side with foreign nationals with no acts of violence."