Five questioned over attacks on foreign nationals in Durban

KwaZulu-Natal police have taken five men aged 19 to 46 in for questioning over attacks on foreign nationals during protests in Durban, including the fatal assault of a man in the city’s central business district. Police said the men could assist investigators; they have not said the men were charged or established their guilt. The five were taken in on Friday, October 23, during protests outside Department of Home Affairs offices on Che Guevara Road in Umbilo. Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the inquiry covers several cases involving foreign nationals and that investigators were pursuing other people believed to have been involved in violence during the marches. The cases include the fatal assault of a foreign national in Durban’s CBD on Thursday morning, police said. A further case concerns two foreign nationals allegedly assaulted by marchers in Berea that morning. Police also identified an assault on a foreign national in the CBD on Wednesday as part of the investigation. In describing the fatal attack, police said a group was marching along Dr Pixley kaSeme Street toward Maud Mfusi Street when two men left the march and approached a man beside the road....