Hundreds of law enforcement officers, some wearing masks over their mouths, arrived in Greenmarket Square in Cape Town on March 1 2020 to enforce the court order allowing the city to remove refugees illegally camping outside the Central Methodist Church.

Some refugees had packed up their belongings in readiness of the enforcement while some structures were dismantled by the officers.

Sunday Times photographer Esa Alexander captured the emotional scenes that played out in the Cape Town CBD.