POLICE fired rubber bullets and used stun grenades against migrants protesting Wednesday near a community hall in South Africa where thousands are being processed for deportation by authorities.

The clashes came as tensions over immigration continue to surge in Africa’s richest country following a series of anti-migrant marches and reports of attacks on some foreign nationals.

The migrants who gathered near the hall in the eastern city of Durban are mainly Malawians who initially turned up there more than a week ago to be voluntarily repatriated to their home country on buses provided by their government, authorities said.

The premier of KwaZulu-Natal Province, where Durban is, has said nearly 10,000 Malawians have been camping in a park near the hall waiting to go home.

But delays in that process have led South African authorities to establish an immigration court at the hall and implement “formal deportation processes,” according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said at least 1,876 people among those gathered have been identified as being in South Africa without proper documents and would be deported.

Efforts to verify the immigration status of others were ongoing, and the mayor of Durban said more than 6,000 Malawians could ultimately be deported.