.
Abdul Balma, a street vendor in central Durban was stabbed several times and his merchandise torched on Monday according to eyewitnesses.
Balma, originally from Burkina Faso, and another man, from Senegal, were assaulted during the incident which took place at the corner of Ingcuce (Albert) and Bertha Mkhize (Victoria) streets.
According to eyewitnesses, Balma was set upon by a group of about ten men who said immigrants must leave South Africa.
A South African national, who did not want to be named, said the men poured petrol on the clothes Balma sells and set them alight. She said he was brave to have stood up to them, but “they started beating him and he was stabbed”.