Nigeria Summons Envoys From S. Africa Over Attacks

Nigeria has summoned its envoys from South Africa in reaction to the recent wave of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other foreign nationals in the country.



"They are not recalled, they are summoned for consultation," Ogbole Ode, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, told The Anadolu Agency Saturday.



In a statement, the ministry said Acting High Commissioner in Pretoria Martin Cobham and Deputy High Commissioner in Johannesburg Uche Ajulu-Okeke have been asked to return to Nigeria.



"The invitation is in connection with the ongoing xenophobia in South Africa targeting foreigners, mainly African migrants," it said.



The move came days after the Nigerian Senate condemned the violence and asked the government to recall its envoys from South Africa.



In recent weeks, South Africa has seen mounting anti-immigrant violence that has mostly targeted migrants from other African countries.



The violence began earlier this month in Durban, where mobs descended on the homes and shops of a number of foreign migrants.



The victims were accused of stealing jobs from native South Africans, committing crimes, and putting a burden on the country's social services.



At least seven people have been killed so far in the violence, which has since spread to parts of Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city.



The violence has forced scores of migrants from Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and other African countries to leave South Africa.



Some claim there are as many as 5 million foreign migrants in South Africa, including 3 million Zimbabweans.



But according to the African Institute for Migration and Society (formerly known as the Forced Migration Studies program), there are between 1.6 and 2 million documented and undocumented migrants living in South Africa.



Most of these are accounted for by migrants from Southern African Development Community (SADC) states, especially Zimbabwe.



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