Crowd of 50 beats foreigner to death in South Africa
The attack on the unidentified victim follows a wave of anti-migrants protests in South Africa this year.
Crowd of 50 beats foreigner to death in South Africa
A foreign national was beaten to death by a crowd of about 50 people in Durban, South Africa, police said.
Police said the unidentified man, thought to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was first approached by two men on the roadside before a larger group attacked him. He was declared dead at the scene.
Police have opened an investigation into the murder, and the motive has not yet been determined.
The killing comes after a wave of anti-immigrant protests in South Africa this year, some of which have turned violent. Earlier this month, shops and cars were set ablaze in Durban and in Soweto, near Johannesburg.
Provincial police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda told the BBC that they could not speculate on the motive for the Durban killing and that more details would be released once confirmed.
The government has called on demonstrators to remain peaceful, while also acknowledging the need for immigration reforms. It says tens of thousands of foreign nationals have been deported or repatriated since it began a crackdown earlier this year.
One of the groups organising the protests, March and March, had originally set a 30 June deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.
A number of protests were held before that deadline, with reports of attacks on people from other African countries.
Those incidents prompted several countries, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana, to move to repatriate their citizens amid fears of more violence.
Nigeria accused South African authorities of being responsible for the deaths of two of its citizens that month.
Ghana also confirmed the death of a citizen, Bashiru Isak, a father of three who was fatally shot in Cape Town during demonstrations targeting foreign nationals.
His death triggered a diplomatic dispute with South Africa, which said the extent of the violence had been overstated.
One of the leaders of the March and March movement, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, denied being xenophobic.
"We can't be living with these people for so many years and now when we say it is too much, it is enough, we are told that we are xenophobic," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
South Africa has faced xenophobic attacks for nearly two decades. In 2008, more than 60 people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced during widespread attacks on foreign nationals.
The latest unrest comes against a backdrop of widespread poverty, deep inequality and unemployment affecting roughly a third of the workforce.
Migrants are often accused of taking jobs, fuelling crime and putting pressure on public services, although researchers say such broad claims are not backed by evidence.
Even with its economic challenges, South Africa remains one of the continent's main destinations for migrants looking for work, safety and better opportunities.