Thousands of people have marched in South Africa’s main cities to demand that all undocumented migrants leave the country.

Police officers – backed by private security guards – have been deployed because of fears that protests could turn violent. Anti-migrant groups had set Tuesday as the deadline for undocumented migrants to leave.

Many foreigners have already fled to escape violence and intimidation. South African police say 25,000 have been repatriated so far. Most are from other African countries.

One undocumented Malawian told the BBC he was “happy to be going back” but “heartbroken” to be leaving behind four young children.

‘They came with machetes’ – deadline looms for migrants to leave South Africa

The Ministry of Police said the protests have largely been peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting.

In Johannesburg, the financial capital, shops in the city centre were closed, while police visibility is high on major streets.

The military has been deployed in Hillbrow, a suburb in Johannesburg where many African migrants live, following reports of a teenager being shot and a car being torched, local media report.

Some protesters threw bricks, breaking the windows of some homes in Yeoville, another suburb where many African migrants live.

In a neighbourhood in Germiston, about 15km (nine miles) from Johannesburg, demonstrators went to homes, evicting residents they suspected were foreign nationals and handing them over to police officers, insisting they check their documentation, local media report.

Police said they had arrested five people for the alleged looting of a foreign-owned shop in Johannesburg’s biggest township, Soweto.

About 10 people were also arrested for looting in KwaZulu-Natal province, while a woman was arrested for assaulting a police officer and a man for “intimidation” following reports of a foreign national being beaten up, police said.

Businesses in central Durban, the main city in the province, were also shut.

Protesters handed over a memorandum listing their demands to government officials in Durban and Johannesburg.

The leader of anti-migrant group March and March, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, said they would protest every Thursday for the next six months to force the government to “get rid of” undocumented migrants who were still in South Africa.

A demonstrator - who is part of another anti-migrant group, Operation Dudula – told the BBC they would “push the police” to arrest foreigners who are not legally in the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa met some of the protest leaders on the eve of Tuesday’s marches to defuse tensions.

He has repeatedly warned demonstrators to act peacefully, while also accepting the need for immigration reforms.

“Some foreign nationals who live in South Africa are here lawfully,” he reminded citizens in his weekly newsletter.

“They work, study, raise families, invest in our economy and contribute positively to our society. They too are entitled to the protection of our laws and our Constitution.

“The right to protest and freedom of expression does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence,” he wrote.

There are more than three million documented foreign nationals in South Africa, according to official figures.

The statistics do not record the many more migrants believed to be in the country without papers – a bone of contention for the protesters.

Police said that about 50,000 migrants had been arrested since January for being in the country illegally.

Many African migrants moved to South Africa around the time white-minority rule ended in 1994, hoping for a better life.

But with South Africa facing an unemployment rate of more than 30%, anti-migrant sentiments have risen.

Nigeria flew out 269 of its citizens on the eve of the protests, bringing to around 600 the number evacuated so far to the West African nation. More evacuations are expected to take place in the coming days.

Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have also been repatriating their citizens by plane or bus.

Ahead of the deadline, thousands of migrants have been awaiting processing in temporary camps for several weeks out of fear for their safety.

In Durban, which has seen some of the biggest protests, white tents housing mostly Malawians are being dismantled as authorities race to clear the transit camp.

About 7,000 Malawians have already been repatriated, Malawian media report.

Women in colourful sarongs sat on top of their belongings, waiting in line to board a bus home to Malawi.

One man, Nelson Mbewe, said he had gone to South Africa in search of employment to support his family in Malawi.

“But we’ve faced challenges – they’re saying we should go back home because we do not have the right documents,” he told the BBC.

“They say we are ‘makwerekwere’” – a xenophobic slur used to refer to African migrants from other countries – Mbewe said.

“It’s their country, so what can we do? That’s why we have accepted that we just have to [unwillingly] go back home.”

Hassan Phiri, a Malawian who is still waiting to be processed, had a message for the protesters: “All I want to say to South Africans is that we are all one. No matter what is happening, no matter what will happen, Africa must remain Africa.

“Africa can’t be Africa without South Africa… without Malawi, without anywhere,” he told the BBC, adding: “So whatever will happen, we must love each other and stick together as Africa.”

Many Malawians are now stranded in Mozambique unable to travel further north to Malawi – including a group of 200 in the southern town of Maxixe.

“We have no money for transport, food and shelter as we attempt to proceed to Malawi. We request both the governments of Malawi and Mozambique to come to our aid,” a Malawian man who had worked in South Africa for more than 20 years told local media.

Anti-migrant marches were authorised in Durban, Johannesburg and other cities, with police saying traditional weapons would not be allowed.

It was feared this would lead to tension between protesters and the police as many of the demonstrators are ethnic Zulus, who take their shields, whips and sticks when they go on marches.

However, police have so far allowed them to carry the weapons, seizing only a machete at a march in Durban.

Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa, and has sometimes led to violence.

According to the African Centre for Migration and Society’s (ACMS) xenophobic violence tracker Xenowatch, two people have been killed this year.

In 2008, more than 60 people died during a wave of rioting against non-South Africans. (BBC)

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