Twelve people have been killed in a wave of we ekend violence against immigrants in Johannesburg, the South African police said on Monday. The violence spread to the Johannesburg city centre over the weekend, when forei gn-owned shops and businesses were attacked. There are reports that gangs of armed youths have gone on the rampage targeting foreigners. President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday announced that a panel had been set up to look into the xenophobic attacks. “It’s very, very wrong and unacceptable that we have this problem,” he said. The vast majority of immigrants who have flooded South Africa in the post-aparth eid era are from neighbouring Zimbabwe, with an estimated three million having fled the economic crisis in their country. Thousands of foreigners are seeking shelter at police stations in the affected a reas.
