CAPE TOWN, July 29 — The Ghanaian government has repatriated 216 of its citizens from South Africa over the past three days following violence against irregular migrants, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

Hundreds more Ghanaians living in South Africa have registered to return home, the Ghanaian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The government in Accra had already flown out nearly 1,000 compatriots from South Africa in May and June.

The reason for the applications is the violent attacks, which have been ongoing for months, against people suspected of being irregular migrants, including people from Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi.

The South African authorities say more than 25,000 foreign nationals have left the country or been deported recently.

The African Union (AU) announced that it would demand an official statement from South Africa regarding the riots. 

The Nigerian government says it has begun to record the material losses suffered by its citizens in South Africa to claim compensation. Many homes and businesses belonging to foreign Africans were looted during the disturbances.

The protests against irregular migrants are being organised by the civil society movement March and March, which, using increasingly radical rhetoric, is calling for stricter enforcement of immigration law and mass deportations. 

It claims, without evidence, that foreigners living illegally in South Africa contribute to crime and unemployment.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly condemned the attacks and emphasised that irregular migrants cannot be held responsible for South Africa's socio-economic problems. —  Bernama-dpa