A foreign national has been beaten to death by a crowd of about 50 people in Durban, South Africa, police say.

According to police, the unidentified man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was first approached by two men by the roadside before being assaulted by a larger group. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have launched an investigation into the murder, with the motive yet to be established.

The killing follows a wave of protests against immigrants in South Africa this year, some of which have turned violent. Earlier this month, shops and cars were set on fire in Durban, as well as Soweto, near Johannesburg.

Provincial police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda told the BBC they cannot speculate on the motive for the killing in Durban and that more information would be shared once verified.

The government has urged the demonstrators to act peacefully, while also accepting the need for immigration reforms. It says tens of thousands of foreign nationals have been deported or repatriated since it launched a crackdown earlier this year.

One of the groups behind the protests, March and March, had initially set a deadline of 30 June for all undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.

Several protests were held ahead of that deadline, with reports of attacks on people from other African countries.

These prompted several countries, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana, to take steps to repatriate their citizens amid fears of further violence.

Nigeria accused South African authorities of responsibility for the deaths of two of its citizens that month.

Ghana also confirmed the death of a citizen, Bashiru Isak, a father of three who was fatally shot in Cape Town during demonstrations targeting foreign nationals.

His death led to a diplomatic row with South Africa, which said the scale of the violence had been exaggerated.

One of the leaders of the March and March movement, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, denied that she was xenophobic.

“We can’t be living with these people for so many years and now when we say it is too much, it is enough, we are told that we are xenophobic,” she told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.

South Africa has struggled with xenophobic attacks for nearly two decades. In 2008, more than 60 people were killed and tens of thousands displaced during widespread attacks on foreign nationals.

The latest unrest comes against a backdrop of widespread poverty, deep inequality and unemployment affecting roughly a third of the workforce.

Migrants are frequently accused of taking jobs, contributing to crime and placing pressure on public services, although researchers say such sweeping claims are not supported by evidence.

Despite its economic difficulties, South Africa remains one of the continent’s main destinations for migrants seeking employment, safety and better opportunities. (BBC)