Police in South Africa has dismantled an encampment of about 100 asylum seekers that had been set up for more than three years outside the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pretoria.
The migrants reportedly set up makeshift tents in front of the UNHCR to ask to be relocated to other countries following an outbreak of xenophobic violence in 2019.
Dozens of police officers, supported by immigration officials, dismantled the camp, while warning the migrants that they would be arrested and detained if they resisted the operation.
The Pretoria City Council had last week been given the green light by a court to relocate them which means the refugees should be taken to the Lindela Repatriation Centre, a temporary detention centre for undocumented migrants who are to be deported to their home countries.
In the meantime, UNHCR spokeswoman Laura Padoan told Newsmen that the refugees were asking to be taken to a refugee camp in another country but that is outside our mandate.
She said the organization had asked the South African authorities to conduct the dismantling operation “peacefully and in a way that the families are treated humanely, with dignity and respect.
South Africa has some of the most progressive asylum policies in the world, allowing foreigners to apply for refugee status and work.
But human rights groups say the application system is not working properly and is piling up delays, keeping many asylum seekers waiting for years.
The country attracts economic migrants which has led to resentment among unemployed South Africans and sporadic outbreaks of xenophobic violence.
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