Locals killed in S Africa attacks

Many foreigners as still living in makeshift camps in South Africa

A third of those killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa last month were local citizens, the government says.

The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Johannesburg says gangs of attackers mistook them for people from other parts of Africa.

Twenty-one South Africans died in the riots, spokesman Themba Maseko said. He said 20,000 displaced people were still living in fields and halls.

The violence, blamed on unemployment and scarce resources, was the worst since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Mr Maseko said that a day of national healing may be declared for the 62 people who died.

Non-governmental organisations estimate that about 85,000 people were uprooted in the violence - many thousands fled to their countries of origin.

'No romanticising'

The government says language played a role in death of the South Africans as people from the north of the country speak Shangan, which is widely spoken in neighbouring Mozambique.

These people, they don't even ask where you are from or what you are doing here - they just kick you, hit you South African citizen Mpho Seraje

But Mpho Seraje, a South African citizen from the Free State who was attacked last month in Johannesburg, says appearance was often what counted more.

"Maybe because of the colour pigmentation one may say I'm from Zimbabwe or Mozambique," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

"These people, they don't even ask where you are from or what you are doing here - they just kick you, hit you.

"They all carry guns; they all carry slash hammers and knives. They even took our cell phones, money and luggage."

Mr Maseko said the government's policy was to push for the reintegration of those living in makeshift camps.

"We should not be romanticising the process of reintegration," he told journalists.

"It's not going to be easy; it's going to require a lot of hard work.

"It'll require dialogue between the communities and the displaced people and the issue of security is going to be one of the major issues."

He said that the UNHCR has no plans to evacuate any of the foreigners.

"Therefore, reintegration is supported by the international agencies."