Police on Friday, after numerous warnings, removed refugees who were illegally occupying the premises of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Brooklyn, Pretoria.
The refugees have been campaigning in front of the building since October 7, but on Thursday stormed the building by jumping over walls and gates and making themselves at home in the corridors and the parking lot.
Young children were used as “shields” on Friday when refugees hit the premises of the United Nations Refugee Agency in Brooklyn, Pretoria.
This comes after the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday ordered the foreigners to leave the area within three days.
Pending the removal, the refugees moved on the premises themselves, claiming they were no longer on the sidewalk, and the court order did not, therefore, apply to them. They demand to be sent back to their own countries for fear of xenophobic violence in South Africa.
They were taken to various police stations where police are trying to determine if they are legal in South Africa.
