Over 900 arrested during South African anti-migrant protests

JOHANNESBURG, July 1 (Reuters) - ‌South African police ​arrested ​more than 900 people during nationwide anti-migrant protests on Tuesday that were mostly peaceful but ‌at times turned violent, with shops looted, police ⁠said on Wednesday.

Of 120 marches, 108 were peaceful while 12 ‌required police intervention, deputy national ‌police commissioner Tebello Mosikili told a press conference, adding reasons for the arrests ranged from immigration violations ​to public violence, harbouring undocumented migrants and robbery.

Police said in a separate statement that one person was ⁠shot dead late on Tuesday in Johannesburg's Alexandra township, where residents were ​looting informal cornershops known as spaza shops owned by foreign nationals.

Police reinforcements were deployed across ​five of the country's nine provinces ‌overnight, while soldiers were sent to Johannesburg's inner-city Hillbrow neighbourhood, where two people were ⁠injured in a shooting.

In the port city of Durban police opened an inquest over the death of a foreign national ⁠who allegedly jumped from the eighth floor of a building on ​the eve of the protests, believing he was being targeted.

Tuesday's marches were organised to mark a "deadline" an anti-immigrant movement had set ‌for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.

The protests followed months of unrest that have ‌drawn international criticism as foreigners have been driven from ⁠their homes and seen ‌their businesses and property ​vandalised.

(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Nilutpal Timsina, Anathi Madubela and Nellie Peyton;Editing by Alexander Winning, William ‌Maclean)

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