Clashes lead South Africa to withdraw asylum processing order

Violence erupted in Johannesburg's Soweto and the east coast port city of Durban on Thursday, with several cars torched and small foreign-run stores looted.

The order for refugee reception offices to process applications followed a Constitutional Court ruling that certain procedural barriers to asylum seekers were unconstitutional.

It led hundreds of people to flock to refugee reception offices, reigniting local tensions against illegal migrants that led to weeks of protests and saw tens of thousands of Africans flee the country.

Announcing it had withdrawn the directive, the Home Affairs Department said it had led to "serious consequences", with its offices "overwhelmed within a matter of days".

Its officials were placed at risk and "serious threats to public safety and order had emerged," it said.

The "Department will embark on a fresh process," it said.

Thursday's violence erupted after protests called by anti-illegal immigration groups.

At least 14 vehicles were torched in Durban, where a municipal building was set alight. Three foreign nationals were arrested for allegedly assaulting a South African protester, police said.

In Soweto, at least 10 vehicles were torched and small convenience stores looted.

The continent's wealthiest nation has long been a magnet for migrants from elsewhere on the continent.

It has experienced periodic outbreaks of xenophobic violence for nearly two decades, sometimes based on disputed claims that foreign nationals take scarce jobs and resources from locals.

Complaints about illegal immigration have grown ahead of local government elections on November 4, with unemployment above 30 percent another key issue.

At least four foreign nationals were killed in violence earlier this year, according to the South African police, though some African governments said the toll was higher.

The largest numbers of foreign nationals to leave were from Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Nationals of Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda also fled, some repatriated by their government and raising diplomatic tensions with Pretoria.