SA crisis 'far from over'

South African President Thabo Mbeki was expected in Japan on Tuesday, even as aid agencies warned that the crisis at home sparked by the wave of violence against foreigners was far from over.

Mbeki, was due in Japan for a two-day conference on African development, the foreign ministry announced.

He has come under pressure for what critics say has been his slow reaction to the anti-immigrant violence that has left 56 dead and 35 000 displaced.

And while the government was claiming on Monday it had brought the two weeks of violence under control, aid groups warned of the health and logistical problems caused by the mass exodus of migrants fleeing the country.

Humanitarian crisis

In neighbouring Mozambique, authorities said 26 000 of its nationals had returned while Malawi on Monday announced the planned evacuation of 3 000 of its citizens. The Red Cross said it had prepared for the arrival of 25 000 fleeing Zimbabweans into Zambia.

As thousands headed for the borders, a growing humanitarian crisis wracked South Africa itself, with an estimated 35 000 displaced foreigners sheltering at police stations, community centres and churches.

President Thabo Mbeki, who made a rare address to the nation on Sunday to appeal for peace, chaired a meeting of a task force set up to deal with the unrest comprising 11 cabinet ministers.

"The situation is now under control," said Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula after two-and-a-half hours of talks. He said the death toll had risen to 56.

Immigrants in South Africa, many of whom have fled economic meltdown in neighbouring Zimbabwe, are being blamed for sky-high crime rates and for depriving locals of jobs.

Groups of armed youths have purged many poor slum areas around the Johannesburg hotspot, with unrest now reported in seven of the country's nine provinces since violence first erupted on May 11.

'Not enough'

In the wake of the violence, the Red Cross has complained of a lack of national co-ordination.

"The big problem is co-ordination of information between authorities and NGOs (non-governmental organisations). It's not very well organised," Francoise Le Goff, director of the Red Cross in Southern Africa, told AFP.

"The government is still looking for shelters for people and we're still in an emergency situation."

She added that "in Zambia, our teams are expecting the arrival of 25 000 Zimbabweans, or 5 000 families," while more than 5 000 Zimbabweans had been helped to Mozambique.

Muriel Cornelius, programme coordinator for South Africa for aid group Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF), told AFP: "The situation is about to get worse. People have still not received aid and they're not even under tents.