South Africa has closed its diplomatic missions in Nigeria, underscoring the growing strain between Africa's two largest economies after the latest wave of xenophobic violence in
South Africa, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said Thursday.
The department said that while there had been "no direct physical threat" to any
diplomats or staff, the situation remained "somewhat unpredictable" and there were sufficient safety concerns to close the offices in Lagos and Abuja on Tuesday.
On Sunday, violent mobs began looting and setting
fire to foreign-owned businesses in several areas of Johannesburg and the South African capitol Pretoria.