American Marconi Wireless News - First 300 Ghanaians leave S.Africa after xenophobic tensions

Some 800 Ghanaians in total are expected to leave South Africa after Accra organised repatriation flights in response to a wave of protests and violence targeting foreigners in the country.

"The information I have indicates that the flight (was) delayed," but is currently on its way, Fred Duhoe, an aide to Ghana's foreign minister, told AFP.

An AFP photographer saw hundreds of Ghanaian nationals queuing at the O.R. Tambo International Airport, outside Johannesburg, early on Wednesday.

Flight tracking website FlightAware showed the plane had taken off just after 11:00 am local time.

The Ghana High Commission in South Africa has said some 300 people are expected on the initial flight, set to land Wednesday afternoon.

Ghana's government has promised to give those it is evacuating from South Africa a re-integration financial package and psycho-social support.

South Africa, the continent's most industrialised economy, has long been a destination for both legal and undocumented African workers.

But saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 percent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic and anti-migrant protests -- including renewed violence in recent weeks.

A viral video showing the alleged assault of a Ghanaian man triggered outrage as it circulated widely on social media.

The latest tensions have revived uncomfortable debates across Africa about xenophobia, migration and the gap between pan-African rhetoric and realities facing migration on the continent.

F.Dubois--AMWN