South Africa Treads Carefully as Anti-Migrant Groups Set Ultimatum

Xenophobic activist groups issued a June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. Thousands complied; police deployed security nationwide. Officials explicitly reject the ultimatum's legal authority, yet heightened readiness anyway—acknowledging it risks legitimizing the demand, ignoring it risks violence. This caution reflects 2008 riots that killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands.