A foreign national has been beaten to death by a crowd of about 50 people in Durban, South Africa, police say.

According to police, the unidentified man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was first approached by two men by the roadside before being assaulted by a larger group. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have launched an investigation into the murder, with the motive yet to be established.

The killing follows a wave of protests against immigrants in South Africa this year, some of which have turned violent. Earlier this month, shops and cars were set on fire in Durban, as well as Soweto, near Johannesburg.

Provincial police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda told the BBC they cannot speculate on the motive for the killing in Durban and that more information would be shared once verified.

The government has urged the demonstrators to act peacefully, while also accepting the need for immigration reforms. It says tens of thousands of foreign nationals have been deported or repatriated since it launched a crackdown earlier this year.

One of the groups behind the protests, March and March, had initially set a deadline of 30 June for all undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.

Several protests were held ahead of that deadline, with reports of attacks on people from other African countries.

These prompted several countries, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana, to take steps to repatriate their citizens amid fears of further violence.

Nigeria accused South African authorities of responsibility for the deaths of two of its citizens that month.

Ghana also confirmed the death of a citizen, Bashiru Isak, a father of three who was fatally shot in Cape Town during demonstrations targeting foreign nationals.

His death led to a diplomatic row with South Africa, which said the scale of the violence had been exaggerated.

One of the leaders of the March and March movement, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, denied that she was xenophobic.

"We can't be living with these people for so many years and now when we say it is too much, it is enough, we are told that we are xenophobic," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

South Africa has struggled with xenophobic attacks for nearly two decades. In 2008, more than 60 people were killed and tens of thousands displaced during widespread attacks on foreign nationals.

The latest unrest comes against a backdrop of widespread poverty, deep inequality and unemployment affecting roughly a third of the workforce.

Migrants are frequently accused of taking jobs, contributing to crime and placing pressure on public services, although researchers say such sweeping claims are not supported by evidence.

Despite its economic difficulties, South Africa remains one of the continent's main destinations for migrants seeking employment, safety and better opportunities.

Additional reporting by Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg

Probably the creepiest photo and story I have ever seen.

That's enough Internet for today..fuck!

Migrants are frequently accused of [...] contributing to crime

These murderers are quite intelligent, huh?

The South African government responded by giving the private sector unlimited tenders and raising the police budget again

Culture war bullshit working it's magic across the globe.

Death to all xenophobes, in my country, South Africa, and everywhere else.

This is probably very inappropriate a comment... But I am absolutely fucking floored that there's an immigration problem in South Africa.

I'm genuinely curious why you think strongly there wouldn't be one.

It's the strongest economy in the region, with basketcase Zim and hot mess Moz right next door.

LOL. Xenophobia across Africa and human history is as old as time itself. Tribalism started with literal, actual tribes, you know. Same as it has in most places.

Would you like to see examples of modern xenophobia in Africa that predate your American notions of it?

Let's try... 1969!

https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/DCS/article/view/12874

You're saying the same thing as him. Why do you say it like You're disagreeing?

Xeniphobia is why immigration is such an easy issue to use as a political wedge issue, stoking the anger of the populace

I'm not saying the same thing as him. This isn't "culture war bullshit going global," as if Fox News and the War on Christmas drove this.

No no you have a very valid point. For some ridiculous reason my brain was thinking of immigration to Africa.. not South Africa. Idiot.

"Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah had championed the cause of creating a borderless Africa and a common
government for Africa.Between 1957 and 1966, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana fought vigorously for the creation of
a Union of African States with a common African Government. His optimism for the unity and cohesion of
Africa as a lever for continental development was indeed unparalleled. It is interesting to note that Nkrumah
vehemently criticized the artificial divisions and territorial boundaries created by the colonial powers which he
regarded as a deliberate attempt to obstruct the political unity of African peoples" [source - the linked paper above]. So, to some extent, yes it was culture wars exacerbated by western colonial powers that has caused much ethnic strife across modern Africa.

It's a nice attempt, but it seems like you don't really understand either Kwame Nkruma's motivations, nor what xenophobia actually is.

First off, xenophobia is a popular sentiment, not something that elites necessarily control. They can, obviously, via the media, but sometimes it just happens naturally in any society under pressure. For example, around 10 years ago in Zambia there was a rash of xenophobia attacks based on fears that Congolais migrants were doing human sacrifices following some "mad gasser attacks" panic. Yes, you read that right. The government tried to tell people to stop it and they didn't.

Second, don't drag Kwame Nkruma into the argument unless you have actually read some of his work. His motivations for copying the proto-EU in Africa were based on Marcus Garvey's Pan Africanism to garner support, but Nkruma saw he needed economic and political weight. Which is true. Nkruma was good friends with Josip Tito, the President of Yugoslavia, which has managed to form a strong economy and manufacturing base around Yugoslavia's unification. Nkruma wanted the same from Africa, rather than letting the colonial borders dilute political power.

Buuuuuuuuuuuut, no one like that idea. Regardless of who you or Nkruma blamed for why he got deposed, he spent a lot of time not in Ghana as president. He was gone, on his way to China. And hey, for what it's worth, Nkruma was Ashanti, despised by a Ga army officer in Accra, an ethnically Ga part of the county.