ACCRA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The government of Ghana on Monday urged its nationals to avoid nonessential travel to South Africa amid growing attacks on African immigrants.
Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern over the increasing xenophobic attacks in South Africa targeting Africans by groups presenting themselves as anti-immigrant vigilantes, which have resulted in injuries, closure and takeover of businesses, looting, and loss of property.
"The government of Ghana hereby advises Ghanaian nationals to exercise extreme caution in their travel plans and avoid nonessential travel to South Africa until further notice," the ministry said in a statement.
The government also suggested that its nationals in South Africa maintain regular contact with the High Commission for consular services.
The statement said that the Ghanaian authorities will continue to engage their relevant counterparts in South Africa to facilitate the evacuation of their nationals back home.
Meanwhile, the Ghanaian government is calling on the South African government to provide adequate protection for targeted groups of Africans in its territory and to enforce law and order.
On May 27, the Ghanaian government evacuated 300 nationals from South Africa and is seeking to evacuate more in the coming days.
