CAPE TOWN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- "Africans have no choice but to be united" against hatred and conflicts that plague South Africa, an official said on Friday of the recent spate of xenophobic violence.
"The escalation of violence, intimidation and death witnessed recently in our country require us to avoid the pointing of fingers and reach out across all communities," Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor said at a meeting with African diaspora in Pretoria.
Pandor convened the meeting after at least 12 people -- both foreign nationals and South Africans -- were killed in and around Johannesburg earlier this month in a new round of attacks against foreigners fuelled by soaring unemployment and poverty.
She said she convened the meeting to get proposals as to how South Africa should effectively respond to help end hatred and conflict.
She also expressed firm support for police action against the perpetrators and called for an identification of the origin and sources of the antagonism and anger.
"While the attacks are aimed largely at African migrants, we have also noted that many South African citizens are also among the victims," Pandor said.
Calling for solutions to the management of migration on the continent, she said that Africans have no choice but to be united, to work together for their common good.
