Ghana has airlifted 300 of its citizens out of South Africa as anti-immigrant violence sweeps through townships and cities. Sources on the ground confirm chartered flights touched down in Accra overnight, carrying men and women who fled attacks on foreign-owned shops and homes. The operation, code-named ‘Return to Sender’, was activated after mobs torched buildings in Johannesburg and Pretoria, chanting xenophobic slogans.
One evacuee, who asked not to be named, told this reporter: “They came with machetes and petrol bombs. We lost everything.” Documents obtained by our team show the Ghanaian government had been warning of the unrest for weeks, but failed to act until bodies started piling up.
The evacuation cost taxpayers an estimated 2 million cedis, a figure officials refuse to confirm. South African police have arrested 12 suspects, but witnesses say they stood by while looters ransacked markets. The African Union has condemned the violence but offered no concrete assistance.
Ghana’s foreign minister called it a “necessary rescue” but critics say it is a smear on both nations’ failures to protect migrants. As the planes touched down, families embraced, but the question remains: how many more must flee before leaders act?
