African nations evacuate citizens from South Africa amid xenophobic unrest

A wave of voluntary repatriation operations is under way as several African governments move to bring their nationals home from South Africa following a surge of xenophobic violence and an unofficial June 30 deadline announced by anti‑immigrant vigilante groups.

Nigeria’s federal government has organised multiple Air Peace flights, the latest carrying 271 Nigerians to Lagos, after earlier batches of 262 and 66 returned. Over 1,000 Nigerians have registered for the programme.

Uganda announced the evacuation of 746 Ugandans, with Uganda Airlines providing charter flights funded by the state; one Ugandan was killed in KwaZulu‑Natal during the unrest.

Zimbabwe has already repatriated 3,624 citizens and received a $1 million pledge from billionaire Kudakwashe Tagwirei to finance the return of up to 20,000 people.

Liberia is preparing an emergency voluntary repatriation for 29 of its 263 citizens in South Africa, while humanitarian group Gift of the Givers and the Malawi High Commission have dispatched buses to return dozens of Malawians displaced by the attacks.

South Africa’s own intensified immigration enforcement has resulted in the processing of more than 15,000 undocumented migrants for deportation, highlighting the regional scale of the crisis.