Nigeria said Sunday that two of its nationals were killed last month in South Africa following violent anti-immigrant protests targeting African workers in the country.

The Nigerians were killed June 28, two days before an unofficial deadline by protesters for foreigners to leave, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. One was allegedly killed by police officers and the other by unidentified attackers, it said.

South African police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Anti-immigrant protesters in April and May blamed foreigners for high levels of unemployment, crime and pressure on public services. The violence at the protests and attacks on Africans prompted Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi to repatriate their citizens and summon South African diplomats.

“These two killings come at a time when foreigners are being unduly targeted in South Africa. This raises questions about deliberate attempt by some elements to wrongfully generalise and tag well-meaning, hard-working, and respectable Nigerians as criminals,” Nigerian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said.

Ghana reports death

Ghana has also confirmed the killing of one of its citizens during the demonstrations. In a statement issued on July 1, Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 40-year-old Bashiru Isak was shot dead in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on Monday, June 30, 2026. The incident happened during demonstrations linked to ongoing anti-migrant protests and xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.

The ministry said it received news of the shooting “with profound shock and sadness” and described the killing as a senseless act of violence.

“The Government of Ghana condemns, in the strongest terms, this senseless act of violence and the rising tide of xenophobia targeting African nationals, including Ghanaians, in South Africa,” the statement said.

South Africa has a history of violence sparked by anger over the presence of migrants, including in 2008, when more than 60 people were killed in what international rights groups called xenophobic attacks on foreigners.