At least 23 vehicles were set alight in Durban and Soweto on Thursday as protests linked to a Constitutional Court ruling on asylum seekers turned violent, police said.
Police say 14 vehicles were torched in Durban's city centre and nine in Soweto. Shops were looted in both cities.
Public Order Police and other units have been deployed, and acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane was due in Soweto on Thursday night to assess the situation.
No deaths have been reported. This is a developing story.
Violence in Durban and Soweto
The unrest follows a Constitutional Court judgment that expanded access to the asylum process. The court found that asylum seekers could not be barred, detained or deported over procedural or technical immigration errors. Home Affairs then told refugee reception offices to accept applications from anyone seeking protection.
Durban. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a march against gender-based violence ended in the city centre, and marchers then walked down Dr Pixley kaSeme Street to join another group marching at the Home Affairs offices.
"Information at this stage suggests that as they were walking, one of them was allegedly assaulted by a foreign national, and his leg was broken," Netshiunda said.
"It is not yet clear what sparked the alleged assault. The group became angry, and violence erupted, resulting in the burning of at least 14 vehicles."
A lodge and a warehouse were partly burnt, and the fires were put out quickly. Shops were looted and foreign nationals were attacked. Police arrested three foreign nationals for the alleged assault.
Soweto. A protest began outside the Home Affairs office in Orlando West, which closed early because of safety concerns. Protesters then moved to nearby spaza shops, and goods were taken from some of them.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Xolani Fihla said nine vehicles were set alight near the Home Affairs office. He said clashes between South Africans and foreign nationals sparked the unrest, and that police were investigating reports that shots were fired at protesters.
No injuries had been reported in Soweto at the time of the police statement. Residents' accounts of what happened have not been confirmed.
Police also used stun grenades to disperse crowds in Gqeberha, where foreign nationals were queuing.
Police deploy to hotspots
Public Order Police, supported by Durban Metro Police and other law enforcement, are monitoring the Durban city centre. In Soweto, Fihla said police were treating the situation as criminal activity and had deployed officers.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said Dimpane would assess the situation, update the public on deployments in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and outline measures to maintain law and order.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration announced on Wednesday night that it would strengthen the asylum system after the court ruling. Refugee reception offices have seen a sharp rise in people seeking to lodge applications.
The protests were called by groups opposed to illegal migration, which also led earlier marches this year.
Police have not given figures for injuries or total arrests, and have not said whether the 23 vehicles were all private cars. Further details are expected after Dimpane's briefing.
