About 200 refugees spent the night in a park on the outskirts of the Cape Town CBD after being removed from Greenmarket Square by law enforcement officers on Sunday.

Officers lined up again on Monday morning to enforce the court order granted to the city to prevent the group from resettling anywhere in the CBD.

“We want the international community to see how refugees are being treated in South Africa. We want them to help us,” said one of the refugees.

Another woman said: “If we were white people or if we were South African, we wouldn’t be treated like this.”

The refugees have been asked to leave the park area. They remain in place, however, with their belongings packed up.