South African police fired rubber bullets and teargas Wednesday to disperse hundreds of anti-immigrant protesters in Durban.
The protests reflect recurring waves of anti-foreigner sentiment, sometimes erupting into violent attacks that have left communities shaken.
With local elections less than a year away, immigration has become a potent and polarising political issue in South Africa.
Marchers, spurred by political parties and the xenophobic Operation Dudula movement, flooded streets chanting and waving placards demanding stricter immigration control.
Police initially blocked protesters from reaching the beachfront, claimed to be a hub for drugs and criminal activity, maintaining tense calm.
A small faction broke away, harassing bystanders and looting shops, forcing authorities to respond with force to restore order.
Some business owners shuttered their stores hours before the march, fearing violence and damage to property amid growing unrest.
ActionSA party leader Herman Mashaba condemned government inaction, saying uncontrolled immigration threatens the country’s stability and employment opportunities for citizens.
Among the demonstrators, 81-year-old Thembi Dlamini lamented corruption and illegal immigration, saying job competition threatens the future of South African children.
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, attracts millions seeking work, even as its official unemployment rate hovers around 32 percent.
The statistics agency reports roughly three million foreign nationals live in South Africa, accounting for 5.1 percent of the population.
Resentment has grown among unemployed locals, framing immigration as both an economic and social flashpoint ahead of critical elections.