South African protesters intimidate migrants as aid group issues warning

NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns of growing humanitarian needs as tens of thousands of African migrants displaced.Published On 9 Jul 2026Anti-migrant protests are continuing across South Africa, with humanitarian groups and regional countries on alert as vigilantes search for undocumented migrants.On Thursday, anti-migrant activists in Johannesburg went door-to-door in search of people living in the country without permission, handing those they found over to the police, according to Reuters journalists who saw what happened.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why are Nigeria-South Africa tensions rising amid xenophobic attacks?list 2 of 3Migrants in South Africa fear violence ahead of June 30 deadlinelist 3 of 3How xenophobia went viral in South Africaend of listAnti-migrant demonstrators set an informal deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave the country by the end of last month, and have promised to hold weekly protests every Thursday until their demands are met.South Africa has one of the world’s highest unemployment rates. Many anti-migrant protesters blame foreigners for the lack of jobs and rising crime rates.The government has come under increasing criticism from African countries and human rights groups for failing to prevent the rise in xenophobic violence, which has killed several people.Documented migrants also targetedInternational medical NGO, Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials, MSF), warned on Thursday of growing humanitarian needs and disruption to healthcare following the violence and displacement of “tens of thousands of people”.MSF said it had launched an emergency response to assist those who have been unable to access medical care as a consequence of xenophobic violence and intimidation.The NGO said that while the protesters claim to target only “undocumented” migrants, some of its patients reported that refugees, asylum seekers and documented migrants had also been targeted by anti-migrant groups.