By Phakamisa Ndzamela
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police fired rubber bullets on Thursday to quell anti-foreigner violence that has rattled authorities and raised fears of wider clashes in the country's restive townships.
Two people have been killed and more than four dozen others injured since the violence began last Sunday in Alexandra township outside Johannesburg. Most of the attacks have been targeted at Zimbabweans and other immigrants.
While senior government officials rushed to Alexandra to meet community leaders and victims, police fought to restore order in Diepsloot, another township near Johannesburg, where youths threw stones, set up barricades and looted shops.
"Nobody is dead as far as we know. There was one guy who was injured in the head last night," police spokeswoman Captain Louise Rees said. "Apparently some shacks have been burnt."
She added that nine people were arrested for public violence. A number of shops were looted.
"We are taking it (our stock) because they are looting," Amir Iqbal, a naturalised Pakistani-born shopkeeper, said as he packed up goods from his shop in Diepsloot, one of several Pakistani-owned businesses that were looted.
Some 50 others have been arrested in connection with the unrest in Alexandra. They face charges of murder, attempted murder, rape and robbery among others.
The violence, which came after a series of attacks on foreigners across the country, renewed fears that xenophobia was rising South Africa, known as one of the most welcoming to immigrants and asylum seekers, especially from Africa.
Some South Africans, especially those living in areas of high poverty and unemployment, accuse Zimbabweans and other newcomers of fuelling the country's high-rates of violent crime. The immigrants say more often they are the victims of crime.
An estimated 3 million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa as a result of the economic crisis at home.
They, like others on the continent, are lured by work in South Africa's mines, farms and homes, and by one of the world's most liberal immigration and refugee policies.
But a perception that it is now open season on this group threatens to fray South Africa's relations within Africa and handicap its buoyant economy, which is straining under rising inflation, a skills shortage and a power crisis.
The ruling African National Congress has called for an end to the attacks.
"Xenophobia has no place in a democratic, free country like ours. Our people should avoid taking out frustrations they face due to unemployment or crime on immigrants," ANC leader Jacob Zuma said in a speech.
Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula pledged government assistance for victims of the violence on a visit to Alexandra police station, where dozens of African immigrants sought refuge after being attacked by mobs.
