South African police arrest 74 after looters attack foreign-owned shops

In this photo taken Tuesday, April 14, 2015, immigrant men armed with machetes make their way onto a Durban, South Africa, street during clashes with police and in search of locals that attacked foreign shop owners in the city center. (AP Photo/Tebogo Letsie) (The Associated Press)

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In this photo taken in Durban, South Africa, on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, an immigrant armed with a machete on a street during clashes with police and in search of locals that attacked foreign shop owners in the city center. (AP Photo/Tebogo Letsie) (The Associated Press)

In this photo taken Tuesday, April 14, 2015, an immigrant armed with a petrol bomb on a Durban, South Africa, street during clashes with police and in search of locals that attacked foreign shop owners in the city center. (AP Photo/Tebogo Letsie) (The Associated Press)

JOHANNESBURG – A South African aid group said more than 2,000 foreigners are in refugee camps in the coastal city of Durban after deadly attacks on immigrants.

Imtiaaz Sooliman, of the Gift of the Givers organization, said Wednesday that the camps on sports fields around the city would not be enough if the violence continues.

Police spokesman Col. Jay Naicker said 74 people have been arrested after five people were killed in the attacks.

South African newspapers carried photos of foreigners armed with knives and machetes to protect themselves. The Star newspaper said Nigerian shop owners barricaded themselves behind burning tires as South Africans looted storefronts.

In Johannesburg, where looters ransacked foreign-owned shops earlier this year, immigrants shut their shops to avoid possible violence.