Following the death of five African nationals, and the looting and destruction of dozens of foreign-owned businesses over the last few days in ongoing xenophobic attacks, Davies Mwila, the secretary general of Zambia’s Ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party, has urged his South African counterpart Ace Magashule to lead “a new kind of struggle” against xenophobia in South Africa.

In a letter dated September 3, Mwila recalled that Africans across the continent in general and Zambia in particular, provided refuge and solace to their exiled South African brothers and sisters, as they stood shoulder to shoulder with them in very trying circumstances during the Apartheid era, the Lusaka Times reported.

The PF secretary-general said the ongoing attacks in South Africa were of increasing concern to Zambians and other African nationals based there.

On Tuesday in Alexandra township police fired rubber bullets at a crowd of 50 people who were hurling rocks after about two dozen shops, owned by both foreigners and locals, were vandalised or looted.

This followed the arrest of at least 70 people on Monday, in the second outbreak of urban rioting in a week, after hundreds of people marched in Johannesburg’s Central Business District (CBD) earlier in the day, demanding foreigners leave.

At least three people were killed when an old building in the CBD caught fire on Sunday.

The unrest then spread to two eastern suburbs and to the executive capital, Pretoria, where local media reported shops burning in Marabastad - a central business area largely populated by economic migrants.

“Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises in #SouthAfrica by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection,” said Nigeria Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama on Twitter.

“Enough is enough. We will take definitive measures.”