Some of those arrested were undocumented migrants detained for violating immigration rules, while others were arrested for public violence, harbouring illegal immigrants and robbery.
Mosikili said police reinforcements had been deployed to five of the country’s nine provinces overnight to respond to isolated incidents of looting and criminality.
Soldiers were sent to Johannesburg’s Hillbrow neighbourhood to support the police.
Tuesday’s marches were organised to mark a “deadline” an anti-immigrant movement had set for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.
The protests came after months of unrest that have drawn international criticism as foreigners have been driven from their homes and seen their businesses and property vandalised.
The most prominent groups opposing illegal immigration include March and March, Operation Dudula and Progressive Forces. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has challenged the protesters’ allegation that migrants are to blame for the country’s social and economic challenges, met Monday night with leaders of some of the groups and asked them to conduct peaceful demonstrations.
Ngizwe Mchunu, one of the protest leaders, told The Associated Press that he blamed illegal migration for a proliferation of illicit drugs in South Africa. He also complained about the high percentage of informal neighborhood shops run by immigrants from other African countries, saying they should all be owned by South Africans.
The rights group warned that scapegoating foreign nationals distracts from the government’s responsibility to address those underlying problems and said misinformation and xenophobia risk fueling further violence against migrants, according to a statement from Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed.
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